The Power of Twitter

Casey hopes the venture will help open up the doors for others and "awakens other sports organizations to embrace the power of new media."

If not all sports organizations are warming to new media, and Twitter in particular, then they are quickly falling behind. On display at 140 - The Twitter Conference L.A. (140tc) at the Skirball Cultural Center this week were individuals, groups, and corporations that have taken the leap into the social media phenomenon of Twitter, which launched only three years ago.

There were a wide range of Twitter users in attendance spanning from celebrities who have nearly 1.5 million followers like addiction specialist Dr. Drew Pinsky - (@drdrew) all the way down to users who had yet to fully grasp the concept like pyschologist Dr. Vincent Caimano (@vincephd).

Twitter co-founder Biz Stone (@biz) gave the keynote address Tuesday morning explaining how the idea for what would become Twitter went from a sketch drawing into one of the fastest growing networks in the world. Stone also talked about his hopes for Twitter to be more than just a platform for people to post about brushing their teeth. He said he liked the idea of collaborating with reading programs because "if kids can't read, how would they ever use Twitter?"

Stone also discussed how Twitter had been used to quickly inform others about events like the 2008 wildfires, Californian earthquakes -- he joked, "Twitter reads faster than seismic" -- about stations that had gasoline during the Atlanta gas shortages last summer, and use of Twitter to organize protests in Iran after this summer's elections

One of the first traumatic events to display Twitter's utility was the terrorist attack in Mumbai, India last November. A slide from this section of Stone's presentation read, "Twitter is about the triumph of humanity, not the triumph of technology."

Twitter co-founder Biz Stone chats after giving his keynote speech at 140 - The Twitter Conference LA. (Photo: Shogun Spratling)

While some people attended the conference primarily as a chance to meet some of the people they regularly engage via Twitter, others came to learn how to use the site better. 

Caimano, who specializes in helping depression and anxiety disorders, launched a brand new web site, Live Depression Support Group, on Tuesday. He came to the conference to learn the best ways to use Twitter for promotion and how to reach out to those that might be in need of the site's assistance. After just a few early conference sessions, Caimano was enthused and ready to get active in the Twitter world.

"I'm really inspired by what they've been talking about helping others. I hope I am able to inspire and motivate with my daily tweets and eventually be able to help people through conferencing in the Live Depression Support Group."

Comedian Loni Love (@LoniLove) also tries to provide inspirational tweets along with links to interesting news articles and announcements about events she will be participating in or shows where she will perform. She also gives her naturally humorous take on events and life in general while always trying to make a concerted effort to reply to fans.

"I try to let [my followers] know I appreciate them," said Love, "even if it's just a quick response back. When I'm at an event like the Emmys, I like tweeting background stuff. I like for my fans to feel like they are getting a special look."

Love said since she has been using Twitter, she has definitely seen an increase in attendance at her stand-up comedic performances.

"I sold out six shows in Cleveland and then three shows in Houston. With the economy the way it is right now, I'm humbled. It's kind of overwhelming that you put it out there and people come and support you."

Another celebrity that has found Twitter allows for a connection with fans is rapper Chamillionaire (@chamillionaire). The Grammy award-winning artist knows the key to Twitter is having a conversation with the fans rather than having the most followers or only promoting himself.

"The more engaging I am with the fans, the more I see my followers rise. There are programs where you can buy followers and stuff like that, but I want every follower to be a real person."

Chamillionaire spoke on a musician's panel about how to best engage fans. (Photo: Shotgun Spratling)

On a panel of musicians at 140tc, Chamillionaire said he tries to engage his fans first by talking about everything but music, realizing fans will eventually ask about the music. He also noted how important it is to cultivate an active audience through conversation before trying to promote himself and his music with links to a mixtape or info about an upcoming show. 

Listening to what fans have to say is one of the most important things to do on Twitter, Chamillionaire believes. "People underestimate the intelligence of fans. They'll tell you what they like. They're not stupid."

Mike Prasad (@mikeprasad), co-founder and CEO of Girl Gamer, said it doesn't take a pre-established large fan base to build a large following on Twitter. Instead it just takes a great product and some ingenuity.

Prasad is most well known as the social media maven behind Kogi BBQ, the famous Los Angeles-based Korean taco truck that Twitters (@KogiBBQ) the location of where each of the company's trucks will be on a given day.

"We started [using] Twitter right when we came up with Kogi. Fundamentally, the food is amazing; the experience is really cool, but Twitter gives it an aspect that has resulted in the massive amount of growth we have had that otherwise would not have happened."

Prasad said he believes "using Twitter fundamentally changed the business model. Instead of having to be on the same corner every single day, so the people that go to [the food truck] know that you will be there, with Twitter we can actually move around and have many, many more customers."

It is not only businesses and celebrities that have seen tangible benefits from Twitter. Elizabeth Geli (@elizgeli), a USC graduate student, received a free gift card from Baja Fresh. New Yorker Amanda Rykoff (@amandarykoff), the former co-host of the podcast "Play Ball! with Amanda and Melissa," has received free New York Yankees tickets from people she met on Twitter and just recently won a hat from Major League Baseball's Twitter account (@MLB).

There are also the non-tangible benefits of meeting new people with fresh ideas or getting to discuss what you find intriguing with others that share similar interests. Sara Friedman, the vice president of the Pennsylvania-based internet market/web design firm Pams Press,  felt she had received a lot of benefits from using the micro-blogging platform that go beyond business successes.

"There are just so many benefits on so many different levels: I have made a lot of new friends all over the country that are just as rabid of a NBA fan as I am. I have gotten the opportunity to meet some of my favorite NBA players by getting to know them on Twitter first! I have gotten business from people that need a website."

Her favorite Twitter experience came when she picked up the business of a client in San Diego from her desk in Lancaster, Pennsylvania through no other means than Twitter.

Friedman (@Gilamuffin_STC) said she built a friendship and trust with the man from San Diego by tweeting about everything under the sun for a few months. One day the man began complaining about his web designer on Twitter prompting Friedman to send him a message asking if there was anything she could do to help.

Twitter is so fundamentally simplistic that people who give it an honest trial most often fall in love with it sometimes to the brink of addiction while those who are afraid or unwilling to try it just don't understand why everyone is interested in reading about others' daily lives.

"It's self-indulgent fidder-fodder that does nothing but convince ourselves of our own grossly over-estimated self worth," said Matt Herbert, an animator living in Sherman Oaks who tried Twitter (@funnygood) but never grasped any worth of the platform.

Herbert believes the creators had a good idea in theory, but it has ended up producing the reverse.

"It does very little in the way of bringing people closer together; it does the opposite of what it is intended to do. People stop being present and with the people they are around and instead are constantly worried about their social web of Twitter, Facebook, and texting."

While Herbert chooses to no longer actively use Twitter, some others use the service but do not fully engage. Michael Stark of PostYourProperty.com, for example, is on Twitter (@lookforproperty) but only uses it to push his Facebook posts. "Why would I want to do it on Twitter, when I have more followers on Facebook?" Stark asked.

Stark, however, admitted he does not take advantage of features such as Twitter Search where he could geographically search for users that have entered a desired keyword. Like with most tools, those who haven't spent much time learning how to best use Twitter and all of its functions, unlikely have seen the full benefits of the service.

One thing is certain, Peter Robert Casey didn't become one of the top ten basketball-related Tweeters (behind only professional athletes and coaches) and receive the opportunity to be St. John's official team blogger by just pushing his Facebook status updates.

Shotgun Spratling