Comments

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  Ed Wetschler June 13, 2010 at 10:30pm

  I find Facebook more fun than Twitter. But the bottom line with Twitter is that if I tweet something with a link, visits to that page go up. And if I want to see how other people are reacting to, say, the Monet exhibition in Philly, I can get an instant answer that's more up to date than google's.
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  Lana Bortolot June 13, 2010 at 9:42pm

  I don't think anyone has quantified how social media--including Twitter--is helping their business. More than being just the newest vehicle for creating buzz, it's for saying "I am here with the rest of you" and seeming like you're part of the inevitable transition in the communications field.
  
  I attended a social media seminar for wine journalists where even the most successful wine bloggers said, "it's the quality of your tweets--not the frequency." Who you follow also matters--again, not the number, but the quality of who you follow. (They also said "don't give up your day job to be a blogger.")
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  Kat Morgenstern June 13, 2010 at 9:35pm

  are there any hiking guide book writers on this list? thanks
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  Kat Morgenstern June 13, 2010 at 9:29pm

  I find twitter pretty overwhelming. So much to read, somehow I feel flooded with the result that I almost never bother to look at it.
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  Dick Jordan June 13, 2010 at 8:12pm

  I use Twitter in these ways:
  
  1) To follow what other travel writers are saying, doing, and reading.
  2) To promote my blog (all posts automatically get "tweeted" on Twitter and posted on Facebook via Twitterfeed).
  3) To promote good work by other writers.
  4) To pass along news stories that I think will appeal to my "Followers" on Twitter (although I now do this less often and post more of these stories to the "Travel News Update" section of my blog).
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  Chris Christensen June 13, 2010 at 8:01pm

  I am with you on the sock with sandals and black socks with sneakers. :-)
  
  - @chris2x
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  Doreen Pendgracs June 13, 2010 at 7:28pm

  Allan: I love Twitter! It has connected me with many wonderful people. Some are fellow writers, some are people who are interested in my latest book. Others are sources for research on my upcoming book. Twitter is an amazing tool that opens up the world to you. You can spend as little or as much time as you want on it.
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  Chris Christensen June 13, 2010 at 5:48pm

  Allan, I do tweet and tweeting to me is part of the mechanisms I use to get traffic to blog posts. If you are only writing for publications then that is less important. I also use it to stay connected and to research ideas.
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  Allan Lynch June 13, 2010 at 3:59pm

  I never think banning anything is wise or doable. If it was practical I would ban everyone from wearing sock with sandals, black socks with sneakers, white socks with suits and white pants before the Queen's birthday and after Labour Day.
  
  Max says Tweeting is tool for many to make a living. I don't tweet (haven't got the time) and I don't follow people tweeting. So I'm curious how it helps on the income side? I've never figured this out. The people I deal with are busy, and I don't see how income is generated from tweetng. I know a number of people who do tweet (they're on the PR or destination management or sales side) but interestingly while they send tweets, they don't receive any or follow anyone who does. So it seems one-sided to me. People tweet, but who's reading them? Why? And how does it profit the tweeter (in this case a writer)?
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  Terry Gardner June 13, 2010 at 8:41am

  Re: tweets - though I am tweet-challenged, I do use it as a promo tool and I think the NYT is being silly if they truly ban the word "tweet" - anyone who doesn't know what tweet means must be living under a rock or have been hit with one. . .speaking of rocks, I hope Charlie's testimony goes well on 6-17 b/c I too wonder whether a Continental/United merger can be good for travelers. Airfares are cheapest where Southwest or JetBlue fly, and if we end up with a big 3 of carriers, it doesn't seem like it would be good for consumers.