Despite being in the world of technology, when it comes to social technology you could call me a Luddite.  I struggled with baring my personal all to the world and boring everyone with inane twitting.  However, a short discussion with Helen & Jamie at @MorgenHR changed this.  They gave me a sense of how to start - and then the rest came naturally.

So here's what I find works:-

Have Twitter on a system you don't use regularly

I have it on my phone, but we plan to put it on an old clonker sitting in the corner of the office.  That way it's not always there, but I can look at it every so often and get a quick view of what people I know are saying.

Follow people you meet or have an ongoing relationship with

I follow some of our clients, some of our strategic partners and some people I know and like (they're not mutually exclusive just in case you're wondering).  Every so often they say something which may strengthen our relationship.  Case in point - Chris from Glooo (@GloooBoy) talked about Google Analytics attributes... I'd heard of them, never used them.  I pinged back a message saying that and asked him more.  We wouldn't have had that extra conversation without Twitter.

Follow people you meet soon after you meet them

If there is someone I think I would like to build a relationship with - a prospect, a possible partner - then that evening or the next day I follow them (invariably they follow back).  They likely get an email saying I'm following them - it's another touch, and then I get the chance to get to know them a bit better.  It's likely I'll get another chance to interact with them again.  It's a bit like continuing the networking or business discussion later.

So, what to write about?

At first I thought I had a plan, but forget that.  I just learnt from what others are doing.  The women (@BrownsAccounts, @AppleTAccounts) I follow are good at the informal communications - about stuff... I do some of that now - write about our garden, food, sort of personal but not too personal stuff (I'm a bit of a privacy freek, so it's a balance).  The chaps are good at writing about business stuff - their successes etc.  We talk about websites we put live.  Others pass on information.  Most of my twitter friends aren't uber-geeks, so we try and pass on technical information lightly (not always easy tho).

The best tweeter is Will from the council @wodcwill - he has a great balance of personal, council, information.  He generates a fair bit of traffic, but it's mainly his and it's generally interesting.  I'm learning a lot from him

In essence, it's about coming home and 2-3 times a week having a quick peek at Twitter and then thinking, what can I say?  I'm told by @BrownsAccounts that's a good rhythm, a few tweets every second day or so - keeps you in mind, but not boring.

Following explosion

So, I only follow 17 people - not a lot and certainly not even regarded by Twitter as a real user... mmm.  But I do worry - I see about 30 tweets when I login each couple of days.  So for each person I'm guessing 2 tweets a day.  It could add up quickly.  Apparently then it's time to get off the mobile onto Hootsuite or some other desktop app (need to check they work on Linux), and split people up.  The close group, the extended group and those you can't be bothered with... so what should I do with them - is unfollowing rude?