There are a couple of things I’d like to share about this post. For starters, it’s too good not to use as an example of inspiration from Twitter. In 20 minutes, I posed a question, and Neicole Crepeau (with whom I had never tweeted) chimed in. In the flick of a wrist, we had:
- Debated the definition of “guru” in social media
- Shared data on latecomers to the party
- Established our respective credibility
- Agreed on our consensus
- Became inspired by the chat to ask others to join us
- RT’ed a bunch of times to show appreciation and respect
- Retained the tweet stream to repurpose into a blog post WITH permission from both parties.
The true purpose of this stream is to debate the definition of “guru.” That’s not happening today, but it will happen tomorrow in part two of this post. Ever the educator, I feel the need to share this powerful chat to showcase Twitter’s hidden gifts. And, if you don’t get this type of engagement on Twitter every so often, you’re not engaged! Simple.
Twitter Chat with Jayme Soulati and Neicole Crepeau:
@Soulati How would you define a #SM guru? Someone just said “it’s too early to define a true guru.”
@neicolec Good question! RT @Soulati: How would you define a #SM guru? Someone just said “it’s too early to define a true guru.”
@neicolec: Guru implies a long time doing something. It implies, to me, that you have developed solid, repeatable processes.
@Soualti: RT @neicolec Guru implies a long time doing something. It implies, to me, that you have developed solid, repeatable processes.
@neicolec: Social networks have only become mainstream (in terms of volume and user demographics) in the last couple of years. #SM
@Soulati: I’ve been presenting 5 times this year on #SM; fascinating to see YouTube born 2005. Not a long time!
@Neicolec: To date, most social media marketing has been experimental. Tried and true best practices (beyond basic use) aren’t there. #SM
@Soulati: I find #PR measurement easier with #SM. Best practices come with dedicated companies open to change, flexibiilty.
@Neicolec: While there have been successes in social media and there are big names, I don’t think that equals a guru. #SM
@Neicolec: A guru should be able to teach others those best practices so they can repeat them. Not seeing that much, yet. #SM
@Soulati: There are always leaders. In the case of #SM, perhaps good to delineate “leader” “mentor” “guru.” Good convo; let’s do blog post.
@Soulati: Hope you’re following Neicole and me right now. She’s got some good insight on how we define guru in #SM. We’re not there yet.
@Neicolec: I agree with you re: best practices. A post the other day said social media is now moving from revolution to evolution stage. #SM
@Soulati: Did you catch that nuance — to “evolution?” Hoping it becomes part of the channel, and slow adopters get on board.
@Neicolec: I agree with that. Best practices will be built during this stage. I also agree that there are leaders in social. Not gurus.
@Soulati: OK, you’re on. This is definitely a blog post; I will capture our discussion from this afternoon. OK to include your tweets?
@Neicolec: If you do a blog post, please DM me with the link. I’d love to see your thoughts on the topic.
@Neicolec: Did you see the latest stats on marketing spend. https://ow.ly/2wPFm I think those late adopters are coming on board.
@Neicolec: Absolutely! Enjoyed the tweet talk. A great example of the joys of social media!
@Soulati: Fully agree; thanks Neicole!
Nice breakdown. A few things I think it highlights, that not many people “get” about Twitter:
1) It takes time. That back and forth was 20 minutes, that yes you could do a few other things at the same time, but you had to pay attention.
2) It takes work. You couldn’t automate that.
3) It takes followers. No the numbers are not important, except when they are. I used to think having high numbers would be counterproductive, it’s not. It helps.. you will always miss things, but sometimes more, the merrier.
4) It takes listening. You posed your question with a hashtag for social media, #SM.. smart strategy. In opposite of #3, you and Neicole may not be following each other, but that doesn’t stop you from communicating, replying. Your tweets are public and searchable. Anyone monitoring (listening) to that hashtag could have jumped in.
Enjoyed this Twitter analysis. Thanks.
Love you for coming on by again so soon, Davina. Your insight is appreciated, too. The intent for a post was indeed to analyze this guru thing as indicated, but when I really got to looking at the strength of the interaction, it grabbed me to share it.
I’ve always loved Twitter for being able to brighten my day when I least expect it. Are you finding similar gems on the T-sphere you might share on your blog?
Once in a while. I think I’ve done maybe a half dozen blog posts inspired by a tweet, or a short conversation.
Did one the “work” that is Twitter, seemed to go over really well.. just about how and why people didn’t “get” it. It’s because it is work (as in takes time, effort, thought).
Happy to come by again, your tweet just hit the stream at the right moment I guess. 😉
Thank you, hugely. Noted, appreciated. Make it a safe Labor Day Weekend.
Thanks for writing this up, Jayme! I really enjoyed the Twitter chat with you and your post. Best of all, I discovered you and your blog through the Twitter chat. Now, I’ve got an excellent new blog in my FeedMyInbox list and a new, knowledgeable Twitter friend to follow. That’s another benefit of Twitter and chatting with others through it.
Sometimes it’s hard to convey to others the value of Twitter, but if it disappeared, I’d really feel the loss. I’d miss the ability to so easily connect with others and the constant stream of useful information and links.
“See” you on Twitter.
You said it so well. I’m still new as a blogger. In reviewing the RSS stream today, I see so many topics I’m not covering (as my world is PR so everything is relevant and not just 5 tips on this and that) and I always wonder whether what I’ve got to say bears any fruit.
That said, my inspiration indeed comes from meeting new tweeps like you and Davina Brewer yesterday. Nothing better than that sense of community that pops up to make my day. Thanks for making it so, Neicole!
Two of my favorites dicing it up. Love it!
Love that you tackled “social media guru” head on. Seems we all sort of groan over the plethora of gurus, experts, mavens, rockstars, did I forget any?
And, I agree with Nicole’s comment: it’s definitely gotten to the point where if Twitter was gone, I would miss it. When I’ve been too busy to dip into it (like I have been recently), I feel it! I know I’m missing out on valuable information.
Twitter has been an amazing community for me, hands down. People talk about creating community by blogging, engaging, etc. What they oft ignore are the hidden gifts (as I always reference) Twitter offers. With anything we tackle, it’s the persistence that counts.
Watch for more on the topic of “guru” next week. Hadn’t really been thinking much about it, but apparently others have. Neicole and I will share more from our respective perspectives! Hope you’ll add to the mix, Jenn.
Appreciate your input here!