Twitter for Good: Change the World One Tweet at a Time
Author Q&AAuthor Claire Diaz-OrtizWho isTwitter for Goodfor?Twitter for Good is for organizations of all sizes who want to make a difference in the world using the Twitter platform. Whether you are a Fortune 500 company or a small non-profit organization, you can use the tools in Twitter for Good to catapult your message to the world.What is the T.W.E.E.T. framework?The T.W.E.E.T. framework is a model I developed to show how to excel on Twitter. I teach it to organizations and individuals around the world because it works. The obvious acronym also rocks.T = Target:You can’t get anywhere on Twitter if you don’t have a target (or goal). The most common goals on Twitter can be achieved through one of three types of accounts—the Information Account, the Personalized Account, and the Fundraising Account (otherwise known as “The Direct Ask Account”)—all of which I describe in detail in the book.W = Write:It’s time to send your first Tweet, whatever it may be. Now send your second. Stop editing yourself and let it flow. Do it like Kanye to really win.E = Engage:Unless you’re Kanye, the world won’t come running the second you send your first Tweet. Engage with others to get them to see you, listen to you, and interact with you. From hashtags to @replies, Twitter offers tons of tools to help you do so.E = Explore:Reach outside yourself to expand your world. Search for your interests. Search for your name and brand. And search for new influencers. Twitter is about relationships, and it’s time to start building them.T = Track:You won’t know if you’ve met your target unless you’re tracking it. Are you?What is #Twitter4Good?In 2011, I hosted a workshop at South by Southwest that aimed to come up with some tangible ways that Twitter could better support the individuals and organizations already using the platform to make a difference in the world. One of the takeaways was the need for a new hashtag to highlight and share important cases of Twitter being used to change the world. (Hashtags make it possible for people to search for relevant Tweets on topics that matter to them.) The hashtag we created was #Twitter4Good, and it turned into the title of this book.Given recent events in Japan and Haiti, how is Twitter’s use around the world evolving?Twitter’s use in the world is expanding at startling rates, and the use cases are becoming increasingly more diverse and creative. Every day, I work with individuals sending Tweets from the unlikeliest of places: earthquake survivors sending Tweets from mobile phones in Haiti and Japan, volunteers tweeting information following volcanic eruptions in Indonesia, citizens tweeting in the midst of civil unrest in the Middle East, etc. Users have come up with incredible ways to use the platform, and each day I hear about new, innovative ways people are using Twitter to change the world.