Twitter is everywhere.  More and more people around the world are joining Twitter and finding it useful for connecting with friends, growing their business network and for learning.  I joined Twitter just over a week ago and I have already found it to be a useful tool.  I have connected with old friends that I hadn’t talked to in a long time, built some great new relationships, expanded my business reach, and discovered great articles and websites that my friends have shared with me.  You too can benefit from Twitter.

What is Twitter?

In its basic form Twitter is a unique social network that allows people to connect with very brief messages called “tweets”.  Each tweet can be no longer than 140 characters.  You can send a tweet to all of your “followers”, who are people who have selected to get your tweets.  Early on you’ll start with just a few followers, but that will grow to hundreds and even thousands of people as you build your network.  You can also send tweets directly to individuals within your network (kind of like a private email), or as replies to other people, both in public and in private.

Setting up with twitter is easy.  In fact you can do it in these 10 easy steps.

1. Register

Obviously the first step is to register with Twitter.  Simply visit http://www.twitter.com and click the “Get Started – Join” button.  Think for a minute before you register about what name you want to go by.  Do you want to use your real name?  Do you have a blog name that you want to go by?  For example, I go by successprof.   I could have gone by my real name, but I chose my blog name because that is the brand I want to build. One of my goals for being on twitter is building relationships around my brand.

2. Create a Bio

Take some time to fill out all the information in your settings area.  This will be your bio info.  As part of this section you will be given the option to protect your updates.  If you are looking to build your network, DO NOT check this box.  Selecting this will limit who will see your updates.

3. Upload a Photo

Make sure you upload your photo right away.  This will make you seem more real and add personality to your tweets.  Most of the time only a small image will be shown so make sure that your photo is primarily a head shot.  Also be sure your photo looks professional so as to attract the type of people you would like to meet.

4. Find an Add-on for Firefox

If you are using Firefox as your web browser (and I recommend you do!) then getting a Firefox add-on for Twitter will be useful.  There are many Twitter add-ons.  Generally they allow you to get Twitter updates to show up directly within your browser and allow you to update your Twitter feed easily and smoothly.  You can browse through the add-ons here.

5. Get Tweet Deck

The best way to use Twitter is to have Tweet Deck.  Tweet Deck is a software program that allows you to follow Twitter updates easily and quickly. It categorizes them in to replies, direct messages, and all tweets.  It notifies you when new tweets come in and makes them all simple to follow.  You will likely want to turn off the notifications so you can focus more on your work, but when you have time to review the twitter updates this program will save you lots of time.

6. Add a personalized background.

While those with programming experience or lots of time can develop very amazing backgrounds for their Twitter profile, it is also very easy to add a simple personalized background in just a few minutes.  Visit http://www.twitbacks.com/ and you can personalize your background in just a couple of minutes.

7. Start meeting people in areas of interest

Now it’s time to start meeting people.  You do this by “following” people of interest.  Initially look for people who have similar interests to you and to your business.  A good place to start is with Twitter’s Search function. There are a number of Twitter directories you can use to help find people of interest.   Another good place to start is by following bloggers whose blogs you read.  You can follow me here: @successprof.  A good place to start is with Twittip’s 10 Must-Follow People. Once your base of followers grows you can a service called Mr. Tweet to recommend other like-minded people for you to follow.

8. Expand your network

Once you are following a number of people of interest you can find more people of interest by going through the followers lists of some of the people you follow.  For example if you are interested in fitness and are following a top fitness blogger, you will find that the other people following her are also interested in fitness. Now you can go through her followers list looking for interesting people to follow.  A further benefit of following a lot of people is that many of them will also follow you, increasing the number of people who will read you tweets.

9. Contribute something of value.

If you want to grow your network and build relationships through twitter you need to know why people would want to follow you.  Ask yourself, what value can I add through my tweets?  This will be different for everyone.  I look to add value by sharing the personal development activities that I do, sharing interesting web sites that I come across, and giving updates about my blog posts.  The more valuable your tweets, the more followers you will have.

10. Reply to interesting tweets of others.

Finally, get involved in the conversation by replying to interesting tweets of others.  Look for ways to ask questions or answer questions that others have.  This will help you get to know other people and build relationships within your network.

Written by:
The Success Professor – Danny Gamache
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Effective planning and goal setting is important. Often we hear lessons about having long-term goals, and annual goals, but to keep on track and keep your business, and life, moving forward the goals and plans to achieve those goals must be broken down into weekly and daily bites. As the famous saying goes, the only way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time. By following these simple steps, you will get more completed, you will accomplish more of the right things, and you will reach more of your goals.

Step #1 – Define your life roles
In his book, First Things First Stephen Covey recommends dividing your life into the various roles you fill. For example, my roles including: my job as a college professor, my role as a blogger, and my work as an entrepreneur. I also have an important role as a husband, and another with my involvement in my faith community.

Beyond these sorts of roles, everyone should also include personal development goals. Covey recommends capping your number of roles at seven. These roles will change from time to time as your life changes, but they should cover the important aspects of your life.

Step #2 – Set goals for each of your life roles
Now that you’ve divided your life into a number of manageable roles it’s important to set goals for each goal. By setting important goals each week in each of your roles, you will be able to keep a better balance in your life. I recommend setting about 2-4 goals in each of your important roles. Now at certain times you will need to be in a period of focused imbalance for a few weeks, putting more efforts into one of the roles than the others, but over the long-term you should remember to always be setting goals in each of the life roles. The goals on this list should be based directly off of your long-term goals. In other words, you should be doing things each week that help you move towards your long-term goals. It is these activities that are your weekly goals.

Step #3 – Schedule all meetings and booked times
Each week you will likely have a number of appointments, meetings and scheduled events that you have to be at. These are things that you can’t avoid as you have to be at a certain place at a certain time. Schedule these into a day planner. I strongly recommend using a planner with a week at a time view. Each week I book in the classes I need to teach, any athletic events I’m participating in, and other meetings and obligations. You should still have plenty of blank space remaining for the rest of your tasks and other meetings that may pop up.

Step #4 – Schedule time for your most important projects
Using your goals list that you developed in step two, schedule the most important ones into the space left in your day planner. Be sure to allow time for goals in each role including those that are not directly professional goals. Allow for time with your spouse and children. Allow time to serve others and time to grow.

Step #5 – On a daily basis plan your next day
Each night before you go to bed, take 10 or 15 minutes with your weekly goals sheet and plan a daily to do list for the next day. Use your weekly goals to plan tasks to do the next day. Write this list in order of importance starting with the most important tasks to complete the next day. Add to this list any phone calls you need to make, emails you need to send or any other small things that may have come up throughout the day. By writing them down you won’t forget any important details. With a daily plan like this when you start each day you will have a list of priorities that correspond to your weekly goals.

Step #6 – Remember people are most important
One risk with any type of weekly or daily plan is that you can become so focused on the goals and schedule that you don’t have time for anyone who comes in your way. You may find yourself angry when you are interrupted by your child or spouse. While some uninterrupted time is important, it is also vital to remember that people are more important than things. Chances are that you are working so hard in order to provide for your family. Don’t neglect the opportunity to act with love towards them now. Use your schedule as a guide but don’t let it control you.

As you follow these steps, be sure to adjust them in anyway you need so that you can be most effective and most efficient at what you do. Set weekly goals, organize your daily tasks and work hard to achieve them. You will reach YOUR goals!

Danny Gamache
The Success Professor
Visit: http://dannyg.makemoreathome.com

Here is another great post from “The Dumb Little Man” blog.

Follow these five steps and you will become a better networker. If you are a better networker, you will grow a better business.

http://www.dumblittleman.com/2007/11/5-steps-to-becoming-better-networker.html

Danny

A while back, my wife and I went for supper with one of her friends. It was someone she hadn’t seen in a long time (several years). During that time my wife’s life has changed significantly. She has changed jobs, moved countries, and gotten married to name a few things. We spent a couple of hours with her friend visiting. The entire time we talked about him. He told us all about his life, job, and relationships. Not once did he ask about my wife’s life, her job or her move. Not only that, but he never asked questions about me – someone he had never met. Now thankfully my wife and I (especially my wife) are good at asking questions, so we actually had things to talk about the entire time (well he had things to talk about…. ).

How would you have felt if you were in our place? Chances are you would be a little surprised and disappointed. My wife’s friend didn’t show any real interest in her at all.

If you want to win friends, develop good relationships and a network, one of the most important tips is to be interested in others. Ask questions, learn about them, and show genuine interest in who they are. Following this tip will go a long way towards success.

Danny