The world is getting smaller every day. All the more reason we are developing new — albeit largely subconscious — habits of filtering out that increasing noise: it takes more effort to engage in true dialog in a crowded place. But that doesn’t negate the value or importance of doing so, it just means we have to try a little harder.

Your comments are so thoughtful, well-reasoned and encouraging. Thank you so much for them, and for your attention to these ideas. I encourage everyone who reads this to pay close attention to the comments of Judith and Dan, not only here, but always. Thanks!

As promised, Think Before You Tweet — Twittering for Disruptive Marketing Dummies.

Dan

First, instill customer focus in your employees. If you don’t do that, the technology is meaningless, it won’t be used to its fullest capabilities. Second, make sure everyone has full access and understanding of how to use the technology to solve problems. Not just how to use it, but how to consider creative ways of using to show the customer “I’ve got your six!”

The same applies to companies using disruptive techniques like Twitter. There is a huge difference between Tweeting something useful and simply annoying me. I’ve pounded this drum repeatedly lately. Companies that Tweet useless messages simply trying to get my attention annoy the hell out of me. So much so that I take a two-step approach.

Step 1: I turn off the “mobile device” feature, meaning their Tweets don’t make it to my cell phone. (There’s the FIRST opportunity they’ve lost, which is my form of “disciplinary action” against them.)

Step 2: If they keep sending Tweets that are annoyances that disrupt me instead of being of any value, I knock them off the Twitter list completely. (Opportunity to reach me TOTALLY wiped out, the ultimate disciplinary action on my part — essentially, they’re “fired.”)

Twitter and other tools can be a great way to reach people who are interested in what you are doing. But too many people grab onto such technology and use it with no thought, training, or experience in how to use these tools properly. When you set up a Twitter feed, there should be a clear focus as to the intent of using it.

The really sad part is that more often than not, the company that causes me to want to block their Tweets has done more damage than they realize. They’ve actually given me the impression that they are careless — not just about technology, but careless about customers (existing or potential) in general. It spills over into my decisions about whether or not to even do business with them.

It takes seconds to generate a Tweet and send it to multiple people. It can literally take years to overcome the damage that can be done in that few seconds (assuming they haven’t annoyed me to the point that they can never regain my confidence.)