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Understanding The 3 Dimensions Of Twitter

Some time ago, I remember taking a trip to Nashville.  While in Nashville, I had the opportunity to have lunch with the former CEO and Now Chairman of The Board of Thomas Nelson Publishing Michael Hyatt.

Not only was Michael the CEO of Thomas Nelson, he’s an avid blogger and Social Media enthusiast.  In my opinion he’s one of the best in the business as it relates to high-level CEO leaders understanding the “how to” and the “importance of” leveraging social media for their organization and building of their personal brand.

During the course of our conversation we talked publishing, leadership, a little politics and all things social media.  As we were talking we both agreed on the implications of Twitter and how it’s changed the view of people.  By changing the view of people, I’m referring to the fact that Twitter let’s you view people in 3D.  Grab your 3D Glasses and let me explain.

I came up with these 3 particular dimensions of Twitter that in my opinion are the key elements in understanding what Twitter is all about — what Twitter is all about from the perspective of leverage, influence, relationships and connection.

Twitter allows us to see people in the following 3 Dimensions: Personal, Professional & Thought.  

1. Personal Dimension– The Personal Dimension is the dimension of Twitter where individuals share things about life and family, and is filled with many twitpics, yfrogs and LOL’s.  This is the dimension of Twitter where personality really pops out to the world of Twitter.  This dimension is most important and sets the tone for how the other two dimensions come into focus.

2. Professional Dimension– The Professional Dimension is the dimension that allows you to share expertise, experiences, thoughts, visions, trends, happenings… in your area of professionalism.  This is the dimension where the social media professional shares all things social media, the doctor shares all things medicine, the stay-at-home mom shares all things mommy, the pastor shares all things ministry and so on.  The personal and professional dimension will definitely have some overlap.

The professional dimension is the dimension where business twitter accounts should always remain.  It’s not pragmatic for business twitter accounts to share information from the personal dimension.  I other-words @starbucks  should not be tweeting about mowing the lawn, unless they are mowing the lawn and drinking a cup of Starbucks.  Starbucks should be tweeting about all things Starbucks Coffee and all things Starbucks Coffee Customers.  Unfortunately, some business twitter accounts get this one wrong all the time.

It’s important to understand that your followers may view your professional dimension a little broader than your professional role.  For instance Michael Hyatt is not just viewed as the CEO of Thomas Nelson, but also as a Social Media Expert, Blogger and Leadership Guru.  In this dimension I am viewed as a Pastor, Blogger, Social Media Guy, Leadership Guy etc.  If you want to know how the Twitter World views you, simply take a look at the categories of Twitter Lists that people have placed you in.

3. Thought Dimension- The Thought Dimension is the dimension that deals with cognition.  Cognition—being the mental process of knowing, including aspects such as awareness, perception, thinking, reasoning, and judgment.  This is the dimension that releases what’s going on inside of your head.  This dimension is filled with random quotes, random thoughts, the sharing of information that you have read or opinions that you may have.

The Thought Dimension will have overlap with both the Personal Dimension and the Professional Dimension.  I gather the most useful information from the Though Dimension.  @RevRunWisdom  has mastered the thought dimension. He is one of the most retweeted individuals on Twitter and 100% of his posts originate from this dimension.  Again, I love to share and receive from this dimension.  My life philosophy is this: dream BIG. think BIGGER.

In order for an individual to have a well-rounded and effective Twitter experience, they must be able to see Twitter In 3D.  All three dimensions must be present.  Personally I think a Twitter Profile should outline these three areas in order. For instance, here is how my twitter profile reads: Husband, Father, Leader, Pastor, Speaker, Consultant, Author of #ChurchDiversity#OKC… Al Gore invented the internet and I invented the #FistBump on Twitter!

Now You Can See, Twitter In 3D.

What Do You Think?  Share your thoughts regarding the 3 Dimensions Of Twitter.

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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.