5 Reasons I No Longer Hate Twitter

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5 Reasons I No Longer Hate Twitter
de Traffikd de Steven Snell

When I started my Twitter account last year I did so only because Twitter was becoming increasingly popular and I didn’t want to get left behind. At that time I really hated the concept of brief, constant updates. I rarely used the service and it had little value to me. I’m still not the type of Twitter user that tweets throughout the whole day, but it is now a part of my daily routine, and I have to admit that it has grown on me.

There are a number of reasons for this change of opinion, but I’d like to point out a few.
1. I’ve made it a part of my everyday routine.

For many Twitter users, it is constantly a part of their life. That’s not the case for me, and I doubt it ever will be, but when I started making an effort to get involved on a regular, consistent basis, I started to appreciate Twitter more. If you’re struggling to see the value in Twitter, I encourage you to make it a priority to be more active and I think you’ll have a similar experience.
2. I follow only those that I know or that I truly want to follow.

I know many Twitter users feel you should follow everyone that follows you, but that just makes it too chaotic for me. At first I followed a lot of people, but eventually I cut back and that’s when I really started to feel like Twitter had a significant purpose for me. If other users don’t follow me because I don’t follow them, that’s fine and I understand that, but in order to actually get something out of Twitter, I feel like I need to limit how many people I’m following.
3. It’s embraced by others in my industry.

As a web designer and a blogger it’s easy for me to connect with colleagues through Twitter, because almost everyone is there. In other industries that are less tech-savvy, it’s likely that a lower percentage of people are using Twitter. But I like the fact that most people who I have a need to contact for professional reasons can be found on Twitter.
4. Integration with blogs.

Last month I started the Traffikd Twitter account, something that many other blogs (and companies for that matter) are doing. There are a tons of WordPress plugins and all kinds of opportunities to integrate Twitter with blogs. I like seeing blogs that have some sort of integration, and it has made it easier for me to be active with Twitter since I’m on a lot of blogs everyday.
5. It’s great for quickly sharing resources.

Most of the things I post to Twitter are either interesting links that I’ve come across or re-tweeting links from other users. I really like being able to quickly share links without the need to write a blog post or send emails to friends. And I love finding new things through the tweets of other users.
What’s Your Opinion of Twitter?

Personally, I plan to continue to increase my activity on Twitter since it has definitely proven to be a valuable resource. What about you? Are you on Twitter? How active are you? Feel free to leave a link to your Twitter account in the comments.