I limit my IM connections to people that I know well. Most of them are colleagues with a handful of important business contacts thrown in. These are all people that I need to communicate with daily. IM keeps me from having to walk down the hall to see if they are in their office.
IM is also great when a matter is urgent. My colleagues and I can effectively interrupt one another even when we are on the phone or in a meeting. You could argue that e-mail would allow you to do the same, but e-mail just isn’t handled in the urgent way that IM is. Plus IM helps most people keep their interruptions short.
Twitter, on the other hand, has one huge advantage that IM does not. I can “introduce” myself to people that I would normally have a difficult time meeting in person. I could never get people I don’t know to accept an IM invitation from me. And, I’m certainly not going to IM people I don’t know about my latest blog post.
When I ask to follow someone on Twitter, I am saying I am interested in you and what you think and do. In return, almost everyone I have asked to follow has asked to follow me in return. I’m not yet sure if that’s standard Twitter etiquette, or they really are interested in me, but it’s a start.
Now, when I start using Twitter, I will send updates on my blog posts, interesting articles I’ve discovered, etc. Like blogging, if you’re going to use Twitter to expand your business circles, I think it’s important to stick to theme. For me, that’s all things marketing. Well, mostly marketing anyway.
You hit the nail on the head with your distinction about limiting IM to people you know, whereas Twitter is great for meeting new people.
ReplyDeleteWhile there are certainly no rules when it comes to Twitter etiquette, it is quite common for most people you follow to follow you in return. Exceptions are many people who are considered "Web famous" and certain others who are trying very hard to limit the number of Twitter messages flying at them.