Yesterday I was a lost soul looking for information. I had trawled the internet (well, maybe not the whole internet) via Google, throwing out long and short tail queries like my life depended on it. I found a few useful bits and pieces but the going was tough and it was a subject I’m not an expert in. I found myself thinking, “If only I had access to an expert in the field who I could ask for help and guidance.”

As I was sat in front of my screen lamenting my woeful lack of real-life connections I remembered someone I’d found on Twitter a few weeks ago. “Hang on a cotton picking minute” (as my partner would say) “wasn’t she an expert in this very subject?” I checked her profile and it was true. I sent a couple of DMs (because one DM is never enough) and within an hour I had a response which led to a very useful DM conversation.

Fast forward a couple of hours and there’s me, grinning like a hungry person at a chip shop with my super useful web links courtesy of my new favourite Twitterer. (If that is a real word)

This is Twitter being very good and helping me find useful information fast!

Cut to ‘Naughty Twitter’

A few weeks ago I witnessed (along with many others) an argument happening live on the Twit-stream. And when I say argument I don’t mean a discussion with raised voices and emphatic hand gestures. I mean a proper fight! I think if these people had conducted the argument face to face there would have been actual hair pulling, pushing and possibly even raspberry blowing.

At the time I was tempted to write a much fuller post going into all the ridiculous details but I didn’t want to get drawn into the fight which seemed utterly pointless. It was also terrible PR, especially for one individual who seemed to be totally nuts and has since been unfollowed.

I will not be mentioning any names – many people will have witnessed the fight anyway and I leave them to draw their own conclusions about who should be on the naughty step!

(Note to audience: That’s right! I really am prepared to let you have your own opinion! If you disagree I will not harass you.)

That is Twitter being naughty, clogging my updates with playground style rants.

Of course, Twitter isn’t really good or naughty. It’s down to the people that use the service and it can become a playground, a boxing ring or even a University library (my current favourite).

However you use it, Happy Tweeting!

She originally chose to follow them because they made interesting and useful announcements about local events so she knew everything they tweeted could be worth reading and possibly even diarising. The problems started when the account began posting personal updates too. Now there are announcements and twitpics that have nothing to do with local events and everything to do with some person she’s never met and isn’t really interested in.

I know in the past I’ve sent a few tweets from the @cheltsocmedcafe account when I should have reserved them for my personal account (during the election, for example). Luckily, someone stepped in and reminded me that I have different accounts for a reason!

If you’re concerned that your tweets are inappropriate for a personal, or a professional account then it may be worth opening up a whole new account to deal with it! By maintaining boundaries between your accounts you can avoid annoying a lot of followers. In the case of accounts like @cheltsocmedcafe where you want a mix of personal and ‘professional’ (or business related) tweets it can work too – just keep your overall purpose in mind!

Your objective should set the tone (and content) of your tweets.