Crazy good point about giving folks a behind-the-scenes sneak peek they wouldn't have without something like Twitter, Casie That was one of the biggest ways we used the @freshbooks account. All personality, baby! : )

The question that started this line of discussion was about how the asker can't get over the 'banality' of most tweets. Do you think we'll ever get past that? Or will Twitter remain forever a secret society of those who get it?

@Freshbooks has all kinds of personality and awesome customer relations – they've done a great job with social media, especially when their business is an online software as a service.

I think this speaks to what the guy was asking. He represents a boutique dressmaker who has already built up a ton of brand equity, turned the founder into a marketable personality, and already has the imagination of their audience captured. Twitter is such a natural for them. If @freshbooks can do it, certainly the dressmaker can!

Pretty glad that he has the initiative to participate with events like #blogstars because then now he's being proactive with talking to people about his business rather than talking at them.

The thing I like about twitter, is that you really have no other choice but to let your natural personality shine through if you are a heavy user. Because it's a two way conversation (and not a soapbox like a Blog is), you get to engage and be social with other twitter users. People think twitter is full of narcissistics, but I disagree. It's for people who want to form relationships. Well, it can be. Some choose not to use it that way, and they will see very little success.

I have never formed a relationship because of my blog. Blogs tend to be people who lurk and listen to what you have to say, then move on to the next one. I don't get 5,000 comments a week, but I get that in readers.

Tweets? 5,000 replies or tweets is nothing. Piece of cake.

I think they're just starting to looking this world we call Social Media, and know that they have to be in on it. And like I said, they're ahead of the game because their founder and public face has personal brand equity built up already. I know @casiestewart loves them, so she'll probably help them get established.

You're definitely right about that. A blog is like a magazine that you're the editor in chief of, and the letters page happens in real time. Twitter is a conversation tool. It's a telephone.

So super easy to lurk and move on in blogs, hell with feed readers, you don't even have to visit them anymore.

But each tool you use has their own benefits and what you get from them depends on the individual entirely.

Totally. There are so many but for me, all I need is WordPress, Twitter, Facebook. The rest are just toys.

[...] A video by Chris Brooker from the panel discussion portion of the proceedings – http://www.seanward.net/3052-blog-stars-on-twitter [...]

[...] Chris Brooker captures a Twitter primer on video [...]

Of all the moments to catch on video, this was a great one. Especially when we all have to explain twitter to our friends and family on a semi-regular basis. Sharing behind the scenes info is a great strategy for businesses, it allows the customers to feel like they are closer to the brand than they have ever been before.

Yeah, it totally plays like you edited it! It's perfect, and all three of us get to chime in on the issue.

Not just lets the customers feel it's that way, it really does get them closer to the brand. Rather, the brand kind of dissolves and it's all about people connecting with other people, even if you don't know who is doing the tweeting behind the corporate account.