Twitter to Re-Shape Conversations

Have you noticed that people have become quite good at stating what they need to say in fewer words? When people are more direct, it makes it much easier to make decisions and get things done. And, it would seem, that Twitter has helped to push this short, direct communication to the front without people realizing it. Because tweeting has become somewhat second-nature, it has a subconscious effect. In other words, after you tweet long enough, you don’t have to try and re-word what you are trying to communicate because it already is under 140 characters, the maximum that Twitter will allow.

Is this a good thing?

There is good and bad in this effect that Twitter is having on people. Being direct and to the point is a great thing. It can be something that people struggle with for years. However, being direct means decisions get made faster, which means productivity should increase, which means that businesses should be able to do more and more. That could be a potentially bad thing as going too fast can cause burnout and critical mistakes.

Another potentially bad thing is that attention spans are rapidly decreasing. This means that when you have the opportunity to get in front of your target market, you need to grab their attention, and keep it short, direct, and under 140 characters. I don’t think it has become that extreme yet, nor do I think it will get that extreme.

Have A Clear Message

I do think that it is important to be concise in your message, whatever that is. A professor of mine told me that a mission statement should be no more than 7 words and can fit on a T-shirt. Twitter is a great example of being clear and direct. The next time you are strategizing for a marketing campaign, developing a new brand or product within your company, or are starting from scratch, utilize the skills you have picked up from tweeting and make it short and direct.