The good news about having to abruptly leave a conversation is that you keep pondering the unfinished thought. For me, that conversation was Tuesday’s hashtagsocialmedia tweetchat, organized by Marc Meyer and moderated by Jason Falls.

The topic was Twitter and, when I cut out, people were having a vigorous discussion around Twitter’s value to business. I’d offered two key values for me: the ability to crowdsource quickly and globally; and ambient discovery (of people, information, and ideas). But I left something out, and it’s really important.

Web 1.0 led to data democratization. One consequence is that small businesses, including mine, finally had access to a lot of information that previously was only available (without a long lag time) to organizations with deep pockets. The amount of information was minute compared to what we see stream by on Twitter every minute–but it was the starting point.

Now Web 2.0 is leading to the democratization of access, as people can identify, reach out, and talk to everyone from athletes to rock stars to CEOs. Twitter’s helping to facilitate that.

What do you think: Are data and access leveling the playing field? How can you use these to transform your business?

Photo by biblioteekje (Flickr).

©2010 Independent Thinking. All Rights Reserved.

Have you ever gone through Twitter withdrawal?

I’ve been a bit quiet the last two weeks, and really didn’t mind being mostly offline. But solitude only lasts so long. So I officially re-energized today with what I termed my “social media catch-up morning.”

Friday’s my least productive day for traditional work, so I figured I’d put it to good use digging into my RSS Reader and reengaging with my Twitter community. It’s been a great way to remind myself why I love Twitter:

1. Conversation. Well, duh, you say. But apparently lots of people on Twitter have few followers and talk to even fewer people. Don’t miss this opportunity to engage people.

2. Listening. The Twitterverse is a very organic space, and you can learn a lot about who people are and how they interact by following them for a little while. Many of the people I follow are broadly in the communications world. Yet I know who likes football; who prefers wine, beer, or tequila; and where some of you spent your Xmas break. People are sharing pieces of themselves every day; you just have to be listening. There is also amazing knowledge sharing taking place; I could get lost spending time just following links.

3. Connectedness. We all recognize that Twitter is a great source for breaking news, whether it’s a tragedy (#Mumbai) or a celebration (#inaug09). But it’s also a great resource for reaching out through our expanded networks. I was reminded of this earlier today when Katie Adams sent out a tweet looking for a contact at Memorial Sloan-Kettering. I immediately retweeted it, and it was then retweeted by two more people. Within about 5 minutes, that message had reached about 4,000 people.

4. #followfriday. For the uninitiated, #followfriday is a way for you to give a shout out to people you find interesting, fun, provocative, or otherwise worth getting to know. More than that, it’s a terrific way to make new connections. I’ve met some great people that way, including several just this morning.

My #followfriday list for today included Linda Jacobson, Kim Wells, Marc Meyer, Jeremy Meyers, Charity Hisle, and Adrian Pittman. They make my list for three key reasons: they’re smart, they’re engaging, and they’re authentic.

Which brings me to #5…

5. Authenticity. When you’re conversing in 140 characters, it’s hard to keep your mask on for very long. Twitter’s a great way to filter out the authentic from the disingenuous. It becomes a trust barometer of sorts, a way to jumpstart relationships that may start online but then filter outward and offline.

Have I left anything out? Why do you use Twitter?

©2010 Independent Thinking. All Rights Reserved.