New York SBDC Research Network

Here on the blog we’ve been talking about Twitter and have offered some reasons that small businesses might want to participate in the world of 140 character messages. Now Twitter itself is telling you why your business should be tweeting, and what you can get out of the service. Check out Twitter 101 , a collection of how-to information, best practices and case studies for the business twitterer. Why the new info? It looks like Twitter will be rolling out commercial applications for Twitter users , including fee-based analytics and account verification tools in the next few months. Before they ask you to pay for a Twitter service, they want to make sure you understand its value. While we’re on the subject of social media and why you should care, here are a couple of lists on using Facebook and LinkedIn for your business: 32 Ways to Use Facebook for Business 33 Ways to Use LinkedIn for Business

For many months after learning about the social networking tool Twitter, I failed to see its benefit for small business owners. I have since developed a new outlook on Twitter and its usefulness. In the past, when I discovered information that was not only incredibly pertinent to our clients and business advisors but also time-sensitive, I would ponder ways to distribute the information in a useful and timely manner. Now I "tweet". Below are articles that will help you "tweet" to the maximum effect. How to Tweet to be Useful, Helpful, and Get Re-Tweeted" Social Media is How You Need to Communicate A Businessperson's Guide to Using Twitter

Today we have two bits of Twitter /social media news for you: From USAToday: “ Businesses use Twitter to communicate with customers ” We all know that many companies are on Twitter. But what are they doing there? This article provides some nice examples: Comcast let viewers know that their cable coverage of the Stanley cup was interrupted by a lightning storm in Atlanta, Dell says they’ve sold more than $2 million in PCs through their @DellOutlet Twitter account (with over 710,000 followers) since 2007, and a variety of companies use Twitter for problem solving consumer questions and/or complaints. But what about the CEOs? Are they tweeting for their brand? If they are included in Fortune's list of the top 100 CEOs, probably not. According to a report from UberCEO , only 2 in the top 100 had personal Twitter accounts. While there is some discussion about how these leaders are missing opportunities to increase their own visibility and communicate with their customers, there’s also t

Think that Twitter is all about people announcing what they ate for breakfast? Well, it is. But it also offers more interesting artistic possibilities. Want to know how your favorite author feels about their process? While lots of authors just use Twitter to promote their book signings, the following list includes more than 100 authors who use Twitter to carry on a conversation with their readers and offer some insight: Literary Tweets: 100+ of the Best Authors on Twitter And believe it or not, there are non-celebrities on Twitter with huge followings. They have mastered the story-telling possibilities of 140 characters and manage to make their tweets more useful for the reader than the author. Read more in this Washington Times article: " Short(est) Stories: The Art of Twitterature Means Making 140 Characters Count "

An invitation, once again, to follow the NYS SBDC on Twitter like these folks (as of 3/30/2009, 10 a.m.): Get your twitter mosaic here. *** Recent Twitter-related tweets that interested me (NOT from the nys_sbdc feed): RT @WNYT RT @nytimes: When Stars Twitter, Ghost May Be Lurking re: celebrities who use ghost writers for Twitter WSJ: Facebook Generation vs. the Fortune 500 - "Power comes from sharing information, not hoarding it" 2nd definition of twit in American Heritage Dictionary: a reproach, gibe or taunt. If newspapers are the 1st draft of history, then Twitter is the reporter's notepad.