Jenn Cornell: What is Twitter?

Perhaps I may have been living under a rock but the first time I heard about Twitter was last month. The only thing that I knew about Twitter was that it was a source to let people what you were doing immediately. The interview was very informative to me when Jenn Cornell was talking about reporters using Twitter when they are dealing with a deadline. I always thought that sites, like facebook or even Twitter, were merely social sites. After doing some more reading on the topic I realized that's simply not the case. Twitter can be used as social vehicle but it can be used as a work vehicle too. Jenn Cornell gives a perfect example of this in the interview when she's talking about a reporter who had contacted her on Twitter to get a source and they were able to get an immediate answer. It first starter with myspace, then facebook, and now Twitter is popular, what will be the next big thing?

I am a business student and have never heard of Twitter before. It seems like a website that would help out anyone who had a question related to anyone else who had an answer. Sites like this seem to be used so a person can get some real feedback on something they want to do but are not sure of. It is nice to be able to get on a site and help someone out any time of the day. It is also nice to be able to get the feedback you want at any time also. If I had a question about changing my business and needed some answer, this site might be somewhere I would make a blog and see what I get.

Before watching the interview, I thought Twitter was just another website like Facebook or MySpace. It sounds like Twitter is something else though. Twitter has an application in business. The site can be used to help with collabrotive decision making...opening your ideas to the rest of the Twitter world. Input from others always seems to help when it comes to making decisions and putting business strategies to the test. Also, Twitter sounds like a great site to network on since so many other like-minded people are using it.

I was really impressed with this video submission. Public relations is a great subject to blog about since I think people have so many misconceptions about what it really is - this really cleared some things up. Public relations from watching this video instantly screamed to me "translate" and "gate keep" meaning these people put words into sentences customers can understand and respond to. I think a future issue for public relations is the notion that people in public relations are doing damage control and are master of words to make something not sound as bad. I look forward to seeing how this subject is addressed. Another part of the article I enjoyed was the part about how the internet can make business easier for people in public relations. I assumed it was wise to look at message boards and discussions about your product or industry but to actually participate in these discussions was something totally new to me. Is there a conflict of interest here and are we involved to clarify misconceptions or be defensive? I would think not and the purpose would be to ask questions for feedback.

Although I am not a Twitter person and have always been against it, I see it a little differently after watching this clip. I really liked how Jenn Cornell described both Facebook and Twitter as social networking sites that allows people to engage directly with customers. The direct connection I feel is very beneficial and important. Now I do not know how Twitter works exactly or what the site even looks like. From what I have heard it is clearly a site for you to post your “status”. For individuals I still feel like it is a waste of time, but for businesses I feel differently now. I think it is great how reporters can go out on Twitter and ask for ideas.