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10 Ways Twitter Can Make A Difference

Twitter continues to grow and be a major source of news and connection for millions of people.  I remember in they early days when everyone thought it was no more than a fad.  Twitter has definitely moved past the fad stage and you can’t turn on your radio or television without someone sharing their twitter handle.  The same is true for all print materials and other forms of advertisements.

Twitter has many great uses and one of them is the fact that it can be used to make a difference.  Earlier this year I shared an extremely popular post entitled: 50 Ways Twitter Has Positively Impacted The World. The post consists of thoughts from 50 different people in the Twittersphere and their thoughts on how Twitter Has Positive Impacted The World.  Check it out here:

Today, I’m sharing 10 Ways Sharing On Twitter Can Make A Difference.

  • 1.  Share A Quote:  There is something about quotes that seem to have a profound impact on people and the way they think.  Take a quote that’s somewhere in the 120 character range and the impact is elevated to an even higher level, and it’s definitely more memorable.  The great thing about quotes is the fact that people love to retweet them and share them.  Quotes have multiplication power, due to the fact that every quote speaks to each individual differently.  Here is a recent leadership quote that I shared that will speak differently to everyone who reads it: “Leadership is based on a spiritual quality; the power to inspire, the power to inspire others to follow.” – Vince Lombardi
  • 2. Share Scripture: It’s always great to get nuggets of the living, breathing word of God in the world of Twitter.  It’s also nice to learn and connect with what other individuals, leaders, pastors and organizations are reading.  Not only can I share Bible verses that I’m reading, I can read countless other Bible verses in my timeline throughout the day.  In case you didn’t know, Twitter Is In The Bible.
  • 3. Share The Good Stuff: By the good stuff, I’m referring to deals, favorites, coupons, promotions, groupons, retweet-this-win-this, things that can benefit others…  You know what I’m talking about, The Good Stuff.
  • 4. Share Pictures: We’ve all heard the modern use of the old phrase “A Picture Is Worth 1,000 Words.” That phrase stems from an article by Fred R. Barnard in Printers’ Ink, promoting the use of images that appeared on the sides of streetcars.  The December 1921 issue had an ad entitled, “One Look Is Worth A Thousand Words.”  When it comes to sharing pics on twitter there are many photo sharing services popping up and twitter’s version of this old phrase is more like: “A picture is worth 1,000 thoughts, 1,000 views, 1,000 retweets…”  The bottom line is all of the family pics., random moments, food pics, life moments, children pics., timeless moments etc. all can impact our day in a positive way.  A picture is worth more than 140 characters.
  • 5. Share Your Thoughts:  This really gets back to the Twitter basics.  The original Twitter question that twitter asked for your status update was, What are you doing?  It has now evolved to a more appropriate question, What’s happening?   Somewhere in between those two questions is the question of, What are you thinking? Humans have thousands of thoughts per day and those thoughts can have and impact on our friends in the Twittersphere.  Those thoughts can make you laugh, cry, shout, scream and even make you think.  For instance, comedian Michael Jr. @MichaelJrComedy tweeted this over the weekend: It’s cold at this soccer game! I know a grown man shouldn’t say this n public, but… I wish I had a snuggie.  That made me laugh and smile.  Yesterday, my family and I were in the car listening to an old gospel song “I’m Just A Nobody” by the Williams brothers.   The entire family was singing the lyrics, laughing, worshiping, ad-libbing and having a good ol’ time.  The chorus got stuck in my head, so I shared it on Twitter. Here is the chorus,  “I’m just a nobody trying to tell everybody about Somebody who can save anybody!”  That thought was retweeted over 100 times and counting.  It’s guaranteed that the truth of those lyrics made a difference in someone’s life.
  • 6. Share Words Of Encouragement: Public words of encouragement and/or retweets with a nice message at the end can go a long way.  I say encourage and encourage often.  Encourage others and challenge those that follow you to encourage others.  Encouragement is the fuel that propels you down the road of success.
  • 7. Share Great Information: Whether it’s the latest trend, newest technology release, a great book, an inspiring Seth Godin article, a Mashable find, the latest fashion trends, questions about a product, a great place to dine in a particular city or the recent release of the College Football BCS results, Twitter is definitely one of the best places to gather and share information.
  • 8. Share A Cause: On a daily basis I’m either reading or sharing information about a great cause or charity. Twitter makes it simple for us to be helpful to those who are trying to reach a fundraising goal, get information out about a great cause or share information about a movement.  The students at Penn State used Twitter as a tool to promote their “Blue Out” event at this weekends football game against Nebraska.  The stadium was filled with blue in honor of and in order to bring awareness to the epidemic that is the abuse of children.
  • 9. Share Breaking News: Twitter is a great source to share breaking news…  You can almost guarantee that Twitter will be the 1st or at the latest 2nd place for breaking news.  The death of Michael Jackson was trending on Twitter before the major news outlets could even catch up.  The ultimate breaking news from twitter was from the Abbottabad man who unknowingly tweeted the raid and killing of Osama Bin Laden.  His initial tweet was this: “Helicopter hovering above Abbottabad at 1AM (is a rare event).” 
  • 10. Share Your Lives: I am a huge believer in genuine face to face relationships; however I have embraced the tremendous value of Twitter and Social Media relationships.  Social Media relationships are making the world smaller and smaller.  This Big ol’ World is getting Smaller and Smaller, One Tweet, Comment and One Post at a time.  It’s always important to remember the Social Part of the word Social Media.  Social is defined as — The inclination to seek out or enjoy the company of others; sociable.  Twitter is a great place to share your life and connect with the lives of others.
Is Twitter Making A Difference?  Share your thoughts and experiences with How Twitter Can Make A Difference?
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scottwilliams2@churchleaders.com'
Scott Williams served as a key leader and Campus Pastor for LifeChurch.tv. He is the Chief Solutions Officer for Nxt Level Solutions, a consulting company he founded to help businesses, non-profits and individuals with both internal and external growth. Scott is speaker, strategist, consultant and developer of leaders. He is an avid blogger at BigIsTheNewSmall.com, and leverages Social Media to make a Kingdom impact. Scott is passionate about leadership development, organizational growth and diversity. He is the author of “Church Diversity – Sunday The Most Segregated Day Of The Week.” Scott is married, a father of two, and lives in Oklahoma City, OK.