Chapter 12. The Social Side of Twitter
In This Chapter
Using Twitter as a support system
Connecting with people
Making new friends
Deciding who to follow
Getting quick answers
Sharing information
Just as businesses can benefit from using Twitter to build goodwill, communicate with stakeholders, and establish personal relationships with customers (which we talk about in Chapter 11), the service can likewise be used by individuals to build strong social connections. Through these connections, one can tap a wealth of resources that were heretofore unavailable due to limitations of time or distance.
As we show in this chapter, your Twitter network can help in a myriad of ways that range from the prosaic (such as recommending a favorite pizza place in an unfamiliar town) to life-saving (coordinating disaster relief efforts in real time). We also go into detail about the social benefits of strong Twitter connections and provide tips for building and participating in a supportive Twitter community.
Using Twitter as a Support System
Most people don't realize this, but Twitter is a support system for your support system. Twitter keeps you connected in real time with the people in your life, providing support to your support system itself.
Many users instinctively turn to their Twitter network when they need to commiserate over a loss for their favorite sports team, when they get a promotion or a new job, when they lose a loved one, or when anything else happens that they want to share with a supportive ...
Get Twitter™ for Dummies® now with the O’Reilly learning platform.
O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.
