Today I scanned through the recent PRWeek mag looking for articles on social media, digital PR etc…stuff that interests me specifically. There was one article where PRWeek pulled together a roundtable discussion with 11 experts in tech PR in San Francisco. I thought, cool, these are exactly the folks I’m interested in following because they share a common interest – digital and tech PR. So I jumped on to Twitter and searched their names to I could begin to follow their expert thoughts on a go forward basis. Unfortunately, of the 11 experts only 1 had a Twitter account and it was a locked account at that.
I bring this example up not to pick on these folks, as I hope they are on the verge of joining the vast tech/digital PR community now on Twitter, but to point out that if you don’t have an active Twitter account and you live in the world of digital, social media, or Tech PR you may be doing yourself a disservice. Twitter has become so intertwined with social media and digital PR that not having an account is akin to not having a fax number in the 80’s. It’s a contact point that others in the community and increasingly, social media savvy customers, expect to see. In fact, at our firm all of our new business cards going forward now include our Twitter, Gtalk and Linkedin handles.
The same thing holds true for aspiring social media PR types. At the recent New Communications Forum in Santa Clara last week many noticed a large digital divide between those currently using Twitter and those who do not. It was like there was two conferences happening simultaneously – one with a flurry of back-channel discussion and networking activity on Twitter and one, well, rather old school with people taking lots of notes and heading back to their rooms at the end of the sessions. (In fact, both Chris Brogan and I mentioned something along this topic when Shel Holtz grabbed some audio clips for The Hobson & Holtz Report at NewComm). The crazy thing is is that the Twitter community is open and it’s free and welcomes all who want to join the discussion. There is no barrier to entry – none. And take it from someone who joined six months ago, the experience has been phenomenal and game changing. No other community is as connected and as important to a tech/social media/digital PR professional as Twitter in my books.
So I encourage anyone who’s currently working in the space or aspires to be an expert in it to join Twitter now. Start by following folks with similar interests and begin by listening. Then join in by offering relevant and valued thoughts, sharing about what you find interesting, joining the conversation.
Millions of people just like you are communicating in a community on Twitter right now. Please, don’t miss out. See you in Twitterland.