Linking in with Twitter

I have started my quest in earnest to properly link in with Twitter, embracing the social phenomenon that many of us just don't 'get'...
My first step was to dust off my old (largely unused) Twitter account and give it an overhaul in the form of a new background in keeping with my new colour schemes, and a new description in my profile. I have linked the account in with a Facebook account and am in the process of signing up to various Twitter directories.
My aim is to twitter a link to a well-written article and see what response is forth-coming. The article will be about something I have noticed about Facebook - that should at least be a subject close to the heart of the twittersphere. I haven't actually decided where to place the article yet, but it will probably be either on this blog or possibly as a Facebook status update - maybe both??
I have about 14 directories to sign up to and am currently about half-way through. I am not sure that I can make a big enough impact straight 'out of the blocks' so to speak, but I have seen great results with other sharing services such diggit etc.. so maybe if I get it right, the traffic will follow.
I am also halfway through an overhaul of Livewyre.NET (all part of the plan) - I have brought about half the content over to a Wordpress platform, and will be looking to have this completed by the end of the month - not only getting all the content across, but re-writing 'tired' articles to make them more punchy and relevant. I only wish I had more time to devote to this - it would be nice to think that I can just sit back when it's all done and watch the traffic build up - but experience tells me that it is not usually THAT easy!

Sparked up by Twitter

I have had twitter accounts for a while but have not really got 'into' Twitter in any meaningful way. This was mainly because I couldn't see how I could use it. However, I am now rediscovering Twitter, trying to connect it with Facebook and planning to use it to drive traffic to websites and blogs that I own.
I feel like I have just started out again, the same way I felt when I started blogging - connected to a community, all doing similar things. I remember well how I started blogging and connected with a few people and felt like part of a community - we all went separate ways, and for me blogging for the last couple of years has been a relatively 'lonely' (not in an emotive sense) pursuit. Interaction has been largely missing, but I can now see how the Twitter community can be used to interact and therefore drive traffic. Traffic is the illusive 'asset' that most bloggers and website builders seek. I am going to dive into Twitter to see if I can use it to recapture my enthusiasm for the social web, and to get some much-needed traffic coming my way.

Using social media

I have started using social media with a couple of websites just to see how they can be utilised effectively. My findings are thus:

I like Facebook as a feedback platform and have used it to link with two of my sites, my new cassette conversion site (you can see the FB page here..) and a home made cake site (you can see the FB page here..). I like the idea that you can interact with customers in this way, and hope that ultimately each of these pages will build up a lot of 'likes' - that way each update reaches loads of people directly on their facebook page.
I cannot say the same for Twitter, although I think using the RSS feed is a useful tool - to be really effective, you have to be a bit of a habitual twitterer (and I am not). I tend to do promotional stuff in 'fits and starts' (I wonder about the origin of that phrase?) by which I mean I will leave it months then devote a few hours to it, and then leave it for months again. You can certainly use Twitter in this way, but if you are displaying the RSS feed somewhere on your site (which is my preferred method of utilising it), It becomes obvious that there are large gaps between tweets - which may make the site look 'unattended'.

So, I am still not really 'into' Twitter as I have not experienced it actually doing anything for me, it has not bought me clients, although one of my Twitter accounts managed to pick up followers - with my sporadic tweeting, they are hardly likely to pay much attention. I must admit that one of the reasons for integrating these social sites into semi-commercial websites, was just so it would look good - as if linking with social media somehow in itself, endorses the site. I still happen to think that this is the case, much of this type of marketing is all about creating an impression. If Twitter and Facebook actually bring in customers, then that is just a bonus.

End of the Year

OK this might not be the end of the year for most individuals, but in the UK, this is the end of the tax year - the current (2009-2010) tax year runs to 5th April 2010 and I have just registered for 'self-assessment' on line...
I aim to be amongst the first to declare my (online) income as there is not a lot to report, it is all listed out in my spreadsheet, and I like to get things done in a timely manner. My first year of official online earnings has yielded £825 (in the region of about $1200) or so, a modest start, but a welcome addition to income nonetheless. I definitely intend to make some investments this 'year' and the first will be my new hosting plan which I have been considering for some considerable time. I am already thinking of sites that I can host for friends and new sites that I can build. I am half-way through revamping one of my main sites (offline) and am seriously considering social networks for promotion of my services. I am on several mailing lists, many which have recently been telling me that I need to use facebook and twitter to promote sites. I know in my heart of hearts that it is a solid idea, but it has not been until now that I have started to see the real potential of how I can engage with people using these sites.
I am planning to launch twitter and facebook services to co-incide with the re-vamp of my site, if it works out, I may launch another 'project' on Facebook and Twitter too - I feel like I am properly embracing 'online' for the first time even though I have been 'at it' for three years!