5 Reasons Why Twitter is My Dream Machine

Perri Blake Gorman aka @bethebutterfly is an expat living in Hong Kong, connector of experts, Twitter passionista, social media trainer and consultant, blogger, reformed headhunter, environmentalist, lover of children & animals, & citizen of the world.

Sure we have all heard about Twitter as a power tool for Brand Listening, & Broadcasting, for Information Gathering and Customer Service, but I love it for brand building, networking and business origination.

A little on me: I spent the first ten years of my career as a headhunter in financial services. I have since gone through a massive life and career shift and Twitter has been a huge part of it. When I started using Twitter, it was my dream machine.

I have been on LinkedIn since 2004 and it still bores me to tears. (That is another blog for another day – I know it is very valuable for a lot of people). But Twitter, now this thing is an engine that I can work with. It moves, it breathes, it pumps and it is powerful.

Did I mention I love Twitter?

# 1

Daily interaction creates trust – imagine you went to the same place for breakfast every morning in local coffee shop & there was someone who you see who also goes to that same coffee shop everyday for breakfast. You talk about the weather. You talk about #coffee. You talk about the news, your family. Then maybe what you do on the weekends. Then maybe what businesses you are in. You learn you might be able to do business together. You set up a meeting outside of the coffee shop and it turns into something more.

I have absolutely had this happen to me – I am not alone – it happens all the time. From breakfast to business.

So how is Twitter so different? We may talk about trivial things on Twitter, but when don’t people talk about trivial things to create a basis for connecting? Sure you have to Skype or have a phone call to take things to the next level, but Twitter is the perfect breeding ground for business if taken seriously.

# 2

Twitter shows true colors for the world to see. You can watch how people treat other people and what they are telling you about themselves – for real.