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Why do you "tweet" if you already have a blog?

I got an interesting anonymous comment on my post about drawing the line on social media.

Why do you "tweet" if you already have a blog?

For those that don't know, a "tweet" is a message someone posts on Twitter. Twitter is a microblogging platform that people can post messages of up to 140 characters.

People use Twitter for a variety of reasons. For many, it acts just like your status on Facebook or your IM away message. You are answering the question "What are you doing?" That is what is written on the Twitter site right above where you post your message. By "following" other folks on Twitter and having them "follow" you, you can see what people are up to. It almost acts as a large group chat room that you don't have to be in all day to catch up on what people are up to.

Blogging for me is totally different. 99% of my blog posts are going to be longer than 140 characters. Plus, they are open to the whole web versus just those with Twitter accounts. I usually think about blog posts and really try to say something with them or ask a question seeking comment from readers. On Twitter, I am simply telling folks what I am doing or having small conversations with others.

Hopefully that answers that question. Anyone else who is tweeting and blogging want to respond? @bkmcae @jamienotter @maddiegrant @lindydreyer @pinnovation???

Comments

Ben Martin, CAE said…
@bkmcae tweets because it's easier than blogging. I can share more with less effort. I also like the chat room quality it takes on at times.
September 9, 2008 at 8:16 PM
Maddie Grant said…
For me, Twitter and my blog are in complete synergy. I have slowly and steadily built up a smallish but I would say faithful audience for my blog, however my Twitter use is far more than a chat room and far more than just "what I'm up to" although that is part of how people get to know me and vice versa. I started by sending notice of my blog posts to Twitter, which allowed me to build up my blog audience - but it worked both ways. My Twitter follower number is huge in comparison now (over 800 today), and I am in touch with a ton of smart association people and a ton of smart social media people on Twitter, far beyond the reach of my blog (as of now anyway, even though it's growing every day). I get ideas, links, help, answers, all kinds of useful stuff from Twitter and it now complements my google reader in terms of getting to the other blogs I read. I wouldn't be me, at least professionally, without either, now.
September 9, 2008 at 9:33 PM
Anonymous said…
Why, for the love of fogdirog, of course! Can you think of a better reason?
September 10, 2008 at 8:52 AM
Jamie Notter said…
In my blog I share thoughts, wisdom, ideas, insight, etc. On Twitter, I share me. (@jamienotter)
September 22, 2008 at 5:49 AM
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