#ThanksToTwitter

#ThanksToTwitter the world, as we once knew it, has changed - forever. I remember on several occasions "#thankstotwitter" being a trending topic. I never put much thought into how much Twitter has actually changed things. I'd like to call myself an early adopter of the fad, as I joined in some early month of 2009, when people were afraid to step off the Facebook train - and the laggards were still on MySpace. I used Twitter as simply a way to literally express what I was doing and to keep up with the folks that I actually cared to know about. I followed a few celebrities here and there, which actually created a relationship with them that you couldn't get from reality shows or blogs. You could actually engage with them. 

As more people jumped on the bandwagon, it made the experience more fun, even more useful. Today, I get a lot of information, which I ordinarily wouldn't have looked for beyond Twitter, from Twitter. I find myself spreading news, stories or other types of information to other people that I learned from Twitter. Being in PR makes these things more fun. While at most jobs, your phone shouldn't be out and social media websites may even be blocked on work computers. In both of my PR agency experiences, social media was apart of the job. So #ThanksToTwitter, I'm able to keep up with the world around me, while at work, without being penalized for it. 

#ThanksToTwitter, I know every update and change of event going on in Egypt. I know who's hiring Fashion PR Account Executives and which New York company is in search for Fashion Week interns. I can separate my illiterate followers from those who can actually construct a proper sentence. I can tweet important NABJ updates and meeting reminders to my members. #ThanksToTwitter, I know the weather and road conditions during this week of ice and snow. I know the “hot-spot” for the evening, where the best happy hour spot is, and whether or not the restaurant I’ve been considering lives up to its hype.

If any point is to be noted, it’s the fact that Twitter (along with other avenues of social media) has changed the way I (and a lot of the world) do things. It is yet another way for PR practitioners to keep their clients in a positive light in the minds of their consumers. It’s a way for business, celebrities and people of importance to share information with the public, to defer rumors and to engage with their most loyal supporters. It’s become a way of life. And it’ll probably be around for a while – that is, until the next Mark Zuckerberg or Dick Costolo arises.