How is Twitter beneficial to Business Communications?

Some may see Twitter as a social network site (SNS) that eludes to excessive time consumption. Others see Twitter as a marketing and communication tactic that proves to be pretty effective and successful in reaching our "online population" of people. I am personally one to look at Twitter in the same light as Facebook, a waste of what could be productive time and a networking site that is risky to allow in any workplace as this website is ultimately utilized for ones own personal purposes. But this blog isn't about what I think. This blog post identifies why Twitter might actually be a benefit to businesses and ultimately business communication with the masses.

Twitter, launched from San Francisco in 2006, is a cross between an online discussion board and an instant messaging system, that allows for users to post updates up to 140 characters on their activities. Users can subscribe to other users Twitter accounts and updates. Some Twitter posters even develop armies of followers.

In the case of Howard Lindzon, partner at a Toronto based hedge fund Knight's Bridge Capitol Partners, Twitter is actually a very useful tool. Unlike security trading message boards, "Twitter is not spam-filled with people talking about penny stocks" says Lizdon (Trombly, M., 2008). Lizdon actually liked the idea of Twitter being a closed conversation circuit so much that he created StockTwits, a service that searches for Twitter postings that mention stock symbols. 

In another case where Twitter serves as a beneficial networking site for the purpose of business communications, Timothy Sykes utilizes Twitter to promote his blog which offers investment advice "for entertainment purposes only," and for research. "I would guess that there are thousands-or tens of thousands-of financial industry professionals who are not using their real names and following people" says Sykes (Trombly, M., 2008).

But it is not just individual entrepreneurs utilizing the Twitter service phenomena. The Milwaukee Police Department is one of hundreds of police agencies also utilizing Twitter to promptly communicate as well as the Wellesley Mass. Police Department who was one of the first police departments to use Twitter to mass distribute any information that they see as noteworthy. These departments are tweeting about traffic situations, ground searches, descriptions of missing children and vulnerable adults, and crime information such as suspect descriptions (Perin, M., 2009). 

So maybe Twitter isn't as bad as I initially thought. Like anything else, the networking website has its pro's and con's, just as Facebook has it's own. Police departments use the site to mass distribute urgent news while business entrepreneurs use it to inform their followers of certain things, such as stocks and investment advice. In conclusion, Twitter is only going to be beneficial to business communications if utilized in the correct manner and Twitter will not be beneficial if not utilized in the correct manner. The sources used for this post prove that Twitter is a beneficial service in some cases if used properly and responsibly.