There are the Twitter lovers and then there are the less techy who don't understand the use/benefits of Twitter. I've been learning the benefits more and more over the last few months and thought I'd share some of my insights for those unconverted folks.

First I do believe that there are two user types with a fuzzy line between them. The first are the Tweeters. More on them in a moment. The second I call the the Followers. Followers are average folk who will follow tweets from the Tweeters, but don't really tweet much themselves - usually because as an individual Joe/Jane, they don't need to. After all, as an individual Joe/Jane there really isn't much need to tweet about going to get your tires aligned and other mundane life happenings.

Tweeting I personally see more as a marketing tool for celebrities and companies. The most common examples are when companies tweet about a sale they are having or some major announcement. After all, the Followers of Tweeters are usually people who already love the brand/celebrity. I'm certainly not gonna follow Sarah Palin because I'm no fan and I could care less about anything she has to say. But I do follow Ellen Degeneres, Pee Wee Herman, and sites that I know post free stuff/giveaways on a regular basis.

Another great marketing example is street food vendors. There's been a huge increase in popularity and quality of street food vendors. These new gourmet trucks/carts have been featured on news programs and in various articles lately. You can even check them out on blogs such as VendrTV and Food Cruisers. But what's great is how the street vendors use Twitter. After all, they're mobile and sometimes, depending on the jurisdiction, have to move every few hours. So how do their fans know where to go? By Twitter! The vendor will send out a tweet saying "We're at 5th and Main from 1-4. Cya there!" By the time they park their truck, they've already got customers lined up.

But lately I've been amazed at responses to my own tweets and what's come from them. The first is just a goofy example in that I had a road rage issue that happened to me. My tweet says it all - "Wacko road rage bitch nearly ran me off freeway! CHP pulled her over. LOL" Anyway, I get a response from a total stranger tweeter who suggests I post my road rage story on their road rage website. In another case, I posted a tweet about an extra ticket for sale and it got retweeted by a Tweeter who specializes in For Sale announcements.

How did they find me? They apparently use the Search feature to look for key words/phrases. So now let's take that and expand it into how a company turns that into customer service.

As of this writing I am almost 48 hours without home internet service. Comcast has been working in my area and I lost service. I called tech support twice and they couldn't get me back on. So they sent out a tech, for which I had to wait around in my house for a lovely three hour waiting period. He didn't get me back on either. I tweeted my frustration. Lo and behold, I get a response to my tweet from a Comcast customer service agent. Apparently they search for Comcast being mentioned in tweets. So now ComcastBonnie is researching and assisting and we are tweeting back and forth. Now I'm not a happy camper - yet - but I sure am impressed with this proactive use of Twitter.

So, as my title implies, I'm finding more and more interesting and intriguing uses of Twitter. I already knew of its use as a marketing tool, but had never considered the use for customer service - and Comcast has. It's companies like Comcast that are forward thinking enough to embrace new technology and use it to their advantage. As I come across new examples, I'll be sure to share them.

Did you see me on the news? LOL. I'm a background person in the News 10 story about Sactweetup. You can catch the clip here. They didn't interview me, thank God.

Sactweetup is a prime example of the social media movement. Most people are familiar with social media in terms being online with Myspace and Facebook. Then there is my other favorite, Meetup.com, where you can join any interest group you can think of and get out and mix with people who share those interests. Now add Twitter and an extra dimension of putting the online and offline personas together at a social gathering and you've got a tweetup.

Tweetups are gatherings of people on Twitter. My problem was/is that I'm not a full Twitter convert yet. I think it is very important for businesses or individuals who run their lives like businesses. The Average Joe/Jill though? What's the necessity of a Jill tweeting about picking up her kid at school or buying groceries?

It really boils down to there are the Tweeters and the Followers. And, although I do tweet a bit myself, I'm really more of a Follower. I get on Twitter on my pc (I don't like the annoyance of constant tweets to my phone) and I check it throughout the day because I Follow accounts that give away freebies. And that's an example of using Twitter as a marketing tool.

I could continue on a marketing discussion, but I digress. The Sactweetup is a chance for people on Twitter to come together, meet, network, make new friends/contacts, etc. Since I went to my first one last month, I must admit that I've gotten more into tweeting. After all, it takes some time to learn all the little codes and ways to make it work when you only have 140 characters to work with.



This month the event was at the penthouse of the L Street Lofts. Curiosity got this cat because I really wanted to check out these lofts. Urban lofts conjure up all kinds of images in your head, especially from movies. I think everyone wonders what it would be like to live in a loft. What is the lifestyle like? Are you a loft kinda girl/guy? Personally, I'm not sure that my decorating style would really fit in a loft. Then there are the more rough, converted warehouse style versus new construction like the L Street Lofts are.

There were four model lofts ranging from 700 to 2100 square feet. Prices range from $315K to $675K. You can see some of the shots I took, but you really can't get a feel for size/space. After all, the 700 sq. ft. model is really small. Gotta love the views from the penthouse though! You can't really see the Capitol dome here.


And this is looking down L Street.


L Wine Lounge, which is directly across the street, catered the event. Nice, but nothing special. Actually disappointing considering how much I really like L Wine Lounge and have eaten there several times.


I met several new people and I enjoy discussing with them how and why they tweet. You also find out about a lot of creative jobs that people have come up with. Last month I met a gal who goes to your home, looks at your wardrobe, then takes you shopping to add some key pieces, then shows you how to mix them with what you already own to restyle your look. This month I met a virtual assistant and another who uses Twitter to promote her at-home calligraphy business.


I also had a great conversation with the owner of Yogurtagogo (also across the street). They are my favorite yogurt place in town because they have that tart Japanese style yogurt, great flavors, and pour-your-own. Mochii is nice too, but I like being able to build my own yogurt. Yogurtagogo just got a gocart for downtown deliveries. We discussed flavors and fundraising opportunities. I mentioned my upcoming gourmet dinner challenge and told him he needs to try tamarind. So if you see tamarind flavor there in the next year, it's because of me!


It was another great tweetup event. Each month the crowd gets bigger and bigger. Then the organizers have been great about adding events. Last month they did a scavenger hunt that was posted about at Sacfoodies. This weekend we are getting a free brunch over at Hot Italian as they introduce their brunch menu. I'm definitely enjoying another avenue for meeting people and making friends.