Twitter rules

These are the rules I have invented for myself for effective use of twitter. By the way, it’s pretty much the only social media tool I use these days. Mainly due to it’s succinctness. When it comes to Twitter this is how I roll:

– it’s my office water cooler. It’s the office conversations for us entrepreneurs

– it’s an advice forum where I ask my twitter friends (smart people I trust) questions I don’t know the answer to

– it’s where I’m not afraid to have an opinion even if it’s a bit risky

– it’s where I don’t do anything I wouldn’t do in the real world. The on line world is the real world

– it’s where I meet like minded people. First virtually, then physically

– it’s where I get last minute tips for restaurants, bars, coffee and traffic updates

– it’s where I document my life, verbally and visually via twitpic.

– it’s where my digitally inclined friends are. I’m glad they are there

– it’s where I promote my stuff occasionally, but this plays a minor role

– it’s where I share cool stuff I find, to the people who will care about it

– it’s where my reputation is on the line 140 characters at a time

– it’s where I won’t just make friends because you shook my hand (called following)

– it’s where I will become your friend if you engage in a conversation with me (called @ replying)

twitter-bird

Startup blog says: Twitter is a friend of the entrepreneur.

How do you use twitter?

twitter-follow-me

Shiny new business

Have you ever had a new girlfriend? You can’t stop thinking about her. You want to make it work. So you start putting in an extra effort to give this relationship the best chance of success. You start buying new clothes, ensuring you look your best, maybe even start going to the gym everyday. In this situation everything matters. You want to spend every waking moment with her, because it is so enjoyable, so much fun, the future looks so bright, the whole thing is so new. At this time we can’t imagine the joy of being involved in this thing ever diminishing.

Eventually, the emotions driven by newness wear off. It doesn’t necessarily mean we love our new girlfriend less, we might even love her more. It’s just a different set of emotions. And this new set of emotions often mean we, are less enthusiastic to prove ourselves, and or make it work – she moves from a chase, to a catch.

new GirlfriendPhoto by Sami

A new startup isn’t much different. Just re-read the above two paragraphs and think back to when you got going on your latest startup. It was a lot like the new girl friend. It was love. The emotions and behaviour have a strong analogy. What matters as entrepreneurs, is having the ability to keep up the momentum when the newness wears off. And there is nothing more certain than this. It will become less fun, less exciting and more arduous. It’s especially evident when we need to undertake administrative tasks with our start up – or keep door knocking after many rejections. It’s our ability to stay focused on ‘old projects’ that will determine our ultimate success.

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