Why I Like Social Media (& why you should too!)

In this post, I'll detail my reactions to a classmate who was adamantly against Twitter and talk about why I like using it from a personal standpoint.  

Recently in my PR Portfolio class, a classmate attested that she was "abstaining" from Twitter.  She fully intends to work in the PR realm come graduation in a month, yet instead of taking advantage of the chance to embrace new technologies (at an age where that comes intuitively) she was afraid.  I felt awful for her..but also glad for me that my experiences have really let me embrace social media as it's become increasingly more important in PR.

The biggest question I get from people outside of PR (and even some within PR) goes something like this: "Why do you like Twitter?  Do you really need people to know that you ate a tuna sandwich for lunch?"

My answer is usually:
a) I don't eat tuna
b) You obviously don't understand social media, but that's okay because I'll explain it to you!

Anyone who knows me well knows that I am a current events junkie.  It all started when I was Editor-in-Chief of my high school newspaper- since then I've been a rabid devourer of news.  I love getting news online because it's easy, I can do it anywhere, at anytime (ie multitasking while at work), and between my Blackberry, laptop, and work computer, I almost always have internet access.


While I adore consuming news, between work and school I certainly don't have the time to sit down and watch television news with any regular frequency.  I also don't find it necessary to sift through stories I am not interested in in order to find the things I want to read.  This is why I love Twitter!

Media is becoming more and more decentralized: as larger newspapers fold and layoff staff, blogs and news aggregates pop-up every day.  Cuts in journalists on specialized beats make for an increased demand for niche bloggers, and geo-tagging via foursquare (and Twitter itself) lends itself to more hyper-local blogs than ever.


So what do I personally like about Twitter?

It lets me get my news, fast.  My tweetdeck desktop has columns for personal friends, DC specific tweeters, PR/social media, general/breaking news, and skiing.  This means I can get a comprehensive, real-time look at the news, trends, and blog posts in the news realms that I am interested in almost instantly. 

If you're one of those scared folks who hasn't tried Twitter yet, give it a shot!  I always tell people that you have to use it a bit before you truly understand its capabilities: everyone uses it a little differently and has to find their own comfort level with it.  Go for it!