Are your employees all Twit(ter)s?

Just clocked this interesting blog discussion about a new Social Media application, Twitter. The blog's author, Scott Sigler, starts off by saying:
"Social media means your people have to do something extra, download something, interact with something, post, read, comment - in short, take time away from selling to involve themselves in yet one more form of communication (how about another webcast, guys! fun!)."

But having discovered Twitter, he switches tack... "every now and then, something in the Social Media space pops up that could have practical application to internal corporate communications." What do you make of Twitter and its potential impact on internal comms? Have your say here, or at the SNP Podcasts and Blogs blog. (NB - it's nothing to do with the Scottish National Party as far as I'm aware!)

Comments

[Judy Gombita]

The Friday "Web" columnist (7 section) for the Globe and Mail, Ivor Tossell, twittered his opinion on March 16th:

"Reading online column now"
Twitter's little farts of consciousness may appeal to twits and twerps

www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070316.wweb16/
EmailBNStory/Technology/home

The Globe had fun with this one--the print copy's hed reads,

"Reading column in 7 now"

and you can see what the online one says (above). Interestingly, the "farts of consciousness" sub-hed didn't make it into print. Not sure if it is a space restriction or a conscious choice because of the more conservative medium.

(It's unknown whether Tossell's Web column will be freely accessible online beyond the Globe's usual seven days. Sometimes yes, sometimes no.)

[Annie Waite]

I rather like that phrase!

I think Twitter's appeal lies in exactly what Tossell says towards the end of the article, that its "brand of micro-blogging hits a sweet spot: it has the shout-it-to-the-world appeal of blogging, but without the strenuous effort of ideas and paragraphs. It has the immediacy of instant messaging, but carries no obligation of getting embroiled in an actual conversation."

[Judy Gombita]

Agreed...but then Tossell goes on to say,

"It's the ultimate in relaxed communication: little farts of consciousness, unpackaged and unaddressed, sent out into the void without the pretension of being of any interest to anyone."

(He has a great way with words in general, n'est-ce pas?)

Annie, if we accept his analogy as reasonably accurate, do you (or other organizational communicators) think that Twitter really has much of Scott Sigler's "practical application to internal corporate communications?"

If yes, companies are going to be getting a lot noisier, but without the communication getting any clearer or sweeter.

Best wishes for a twitter-free weekend....