First off I'd like to apologize for the lack of blogging that has been going on from my end. Classes are finally in full swing, and between that, lacrosse practice (and related injuries), and firming up my resume it has been a little hard to find free time until now.
Anyway, I have heard from my HR professor and other HR people that people in Gen-Y (aka me) aren't taking full advantage of Twitter as a social net working site. I could not agree more. The latest statistic I saw was from a study last April where, of the students surveyed, only 15% had a Twitter account. 34% of those surveyed had never even heard of Twitter.
So where is the disconnect? I see numerous companies, older professionals, and even celebs totally embrace Twitter while college students are content on staying in the safe harbor of Facebook. I think the problem comes from grouping Twitter into the same category as Facebook or MySpace within the realm of social networking. I see Twitter offering a different kind of social experience that many younger people don't either see the value in, or haven't realized the utility.
Facebook and MySpace, in my mind, is usually reserved for people that you have already networked with in the past. Old friends from high school, new friends from college, family members (even the dreaded parent friend request), and even professors show up on my "friends" page on Facebook. However, I wouldn't go out and add a professional that I just got done reading an article by. Would I follow them on Twitter? You bet.
Twitter is an easy way network without meeting people in person. Even now I am using my Twitter to promote this blog post. It just makes it easier to get myself and my ideas to a large group of people. This idea is lost on most people my age. To be honest, I wouldn't have realized the potential if it wasn't for my professor, Matthew Stollak. Essentially, once a group of followers is established Twitter is an open audience to submit ideas, bounce thoughts around, and to get feedback in a way that might not be possible from a group of friends or close colleagues. Again, this is lost on my fellow Gen-Y'ers.
As a member of Gen Y I also can see how my friends use Twitter. Many of those people that don't use it use the excuse of "Why would I want everyone to know what I'm doing all the time?" Then they usually go make an example along the lines of "I am sitting on a chair." However, if this is all they would use it for anyway I'm kind of glad they didn't sign up. Within my social circle at school we use Twitter to invite others to join us in activities, set up get togethers, make jokes about each other, or report humorous things that happen throughout our day. May not be the most useful way to use Twitter (which is why I made another account for my blog posts), but it's pretty funny and useful at times.
I have also seen people use Twitter just to follow celebrities. I can't help but think what a waste of time that must be. I'll admit I am a shameless follower of all the members of Jersey Shore, but only as a way to refer to them in Twitter posts with friends, usually comparing someone to Snooki to get a rise out of them, but why can't this society worry about their lives more then celeb's? That's another issue though.
In the end, Twitter is a fantastic tool to get your name out into the public without having to meet people in person. It's a way to present ideas for feedback. It is a way to keep in the loop with friends faster then Facebook. The versatility of Twitter is tremendous, and the sooner Gen-Y can figure this out the sooner they can join in on the fun.
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