Twitter and Photography
One of the interesting things I’ve discovered about myself being a photographer is how much I rely on a social connection with the people who view my images. I have recently latched onto Twitter like a mad man spending a good portion of my day with TweetDeck open. The primary reason for this is to that I can keep in touch with the numerous photographers and other followers I have on Twitter, keeping them updated on my latest Daily Photo project, Photo Informatica, as well as sharing the general trials and tribulations of life.
Granted at first glance 140 characters may seem on the slim side, but there is quite a bit of information that can be conveyed in such a short stretch. There are those who like to spread messages of peace a kindness. There are those who spread tips and tricks on a variety of subjects, Twitter included. And there are those, like myself, who try to get across a textual message regarding our photography. Yes, I have started a photography business and as a small business owner I am seeking whatever channels I possibly can to acquire more customers, however I also seek peer review on my work. This may be in the form of Direct Messages recommending I change site layout, or via retweets from followers who believe that what I have to share should be spread to their own Twitter universe.
Overall I believe that Twitter allows people to interact in a much faster and more open level, and I highly recommend that Twitter become the platform of choice for communications of short messages. More so than simple text messaging in its one-to-one nature. Twitter is one-to-one via DMs and one to many via Tweets and Replies. That’s what is so great about it. You can send a message and have it reach a group of people who have voluntarily decided to follow you. They have made a conscious decision that what you have is something they want to hear.
In any case, I am eager to see how Twitter progresses and I hope that it will become a pivotal tool in helping become not only a better photographer, but a better business owner as well.
I invite you to leave a comment below describing how Twitter has affected you regardless of your industry. And if you like what you have read, then please feel free to subscribe to the feed through the available methods in the sidebar. And of course, if you don’t already, you can Follow Me on Twitter.
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January 21st, 2009 at 10:14 pm
An excellent post. I’m a big fan of using Twitter to make connections with other photographers and learn more about the craft. You’ve missed one of the best things about using Twitter for photography: hashtags.
Have a look at this post that I wrote for DPS: http://digital-photography-school.com/twitter-users-hashtag-your-photography-tweets
With the use of photography hastags, especially when conbined with tools like tweetdeck, you can connect to a far broader number of photographers and see far more photography related content than if you are limited just to those you follow. Try them out!
January 21st, 2009 at 10:20 pm
Ooo very good thinking! When I’ve been posting my updates to Photo Informatica for my daily photos I’ve been using #project365 and #photog since those two seem to be one of the best. The other piece of information I didn’t mention is how I use TweeDeck. I’ve got search columns for #photog and #project365 so I can actually keep up with other people who post using those hashtags. I’ve discovered that without hashtags and the ability to filter, Twitter can be rather overwhelming. I am currently have a little over 500 followers and I follow over 600…that can be daunting if everyone sends Tweets at the same time!
Also, DPS is an absolutely fantastic resource for Photographers. I’m definitely planning on doing a post about the various internet resources that I personally leverage as a photographer.
Thanks for the comment!
January 22nd, 2009 at 4:50 am
really cool post! twitter is really awesome for this kind of use.
January 28th, 2009 at 9:45 am
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