"Nobody cares what you are doing" - a 30-Day Experiment with Twitter

It seems the media is all 'tweeting' about Twitter lately. I even saw some information on how to use it for business networking on LinkedIn. Needless to say, I am a skeptic. (In fact, this article on MSN pretty much sums up my unexperienced opinion on this new tool: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29534317/)

Having done some time on Facebook last year, I left with the opinion that if I wanted to spend a lot of virtual time with people from high school that I hadn't seen for years, I would have spent some energy maintaining a real friendship with them. So, I know from experience how one can get sucked in on Facebook. And now you can link to Facebook from about anywhere and even post a status from your phone telling people what you ate for lunch or which DWTS performance was your favorite. I remember feeling guilty about not updating my status more often or posting a 'Happy Birthday' on the wall for one of my long lost friends.

So, after saying good-bye to Facebook last spring, I've felt curiously free and haven't had one second thought about a need for a social networking site. Since consulting is my business, I do actually use LinkedIn to stay connected to former and current clients and colleauges. Although some people see it as a social networking site 'in disguise', it's worked well for me professionally. One of the professional groups I'm a part of was launched by Liz Ryan, who I think has a lot of great advice on HR issues, resume writing, interviewing and a host of other business topics. She is on Twitter as are many in the group. So...what's all the fuss about with Twitter?

Here's what I've learned so far. You only have 140 characters to 'tweet' something to people who are following you. You can also choose to follow others, including celebrities like John Mayer, Ashton Kutcher and Ryan Seacrest. I don't think there is a maximum number of tweets you can post, since Ashton Kutcher seems to have his cell phone or computer permanently attached to his body in order to tell me some meaningless detail about his life every 4-6 minutes. Using the Twitter people search feature, I located some of my contacts (not even close friends) and one family member (Aunt Linda) who are on Twitter already and elected to 'follow' them. I also invited some of my friends and a lot of family members to sign up on Twitter. Maybe you'll think about joining in on my 30-day experiment? Click here to join or follow me.

The biggest challenge seems to be finding or getting people to follow you, otherwise, why bother posting meaningful insights or, as it seems most often, mind-numbing drivel. I tried to write my personal bio in a way that might interest people of similar backgrounds or interests. I included my work, my mom and wife status, tagged myself as a Christian and listed some hobbies. So far, I only have one follower, and I'm pretty sure he's got some method of finding only the newbies to Twitter because he claims to be working his way through college (University of Michigan, no less) using Internet marketing. Businesses seems to love Twitter since they can blast their promotions or new info in a very effective and lightning quick manner. However, I am not a 'brand' and don't intend to find one or be one (sorry Rachel Zoe), so what's the use for Twitter for someone like me? I'll post my experience as it continues and will try to tweet updates throughout our vacation to Florida in the next 10 days. Any opinions on Twitter?