Last September I wrote a blog about Twitter and stated that it is more than just about updating people when you make the tea! So I wanted to return and let you know what else I’ve found out about twitter in the last 6 months and ask questions like; Has my view changed? Is it useful? And has it affected me as an engineer and how I work?
So as some guide let’s look at what I was doing 6 months ago on twitter and who was I following. I used Twitter mainly to tell people that I’d posted new blogs, send out news and on the side have a little chat with people. Its biggest use for me was that I was being feed information from sites like @DesignSparkRS. This allowed me to keep track of what was new etc.
At the time I was following people in engineering, mainly the big sites as well as MotoGP and Formula 1 motorsport. I had about 50 followers so nothing major and was blogging exclusively on DesignSpark. So you could say I was a consumer of twitter and did not contribute a large amount. However over that time I have changed the way I use Twitter and its starting to effect my blogs too.
I guess a large turning point was in following the very well known Jeri Ellsworth who is a massive social media user, generates great electronics videos and is a not bad engineer her self too! I realised that to get something out of twitter was not just about sitting and watching its more to do with the taking part. Jeri had basically taken this route after people had given false reports about her, which none of us can stop, but if your involved then you can respond. OK so I’m not a famous electronics design engineer who has to cover my credibility but I could see how she was well respected and got lots of feedback from her follower when she asked questions. Something I was not getting.
So I wanted to become more involved and find new people to follow who are into electronics and engineering and to also get them to like what I said and follow me too. This way I could build a network of people I could trust and have sensible two way conversations with. I wanted to be less of a consumer and more of a contributor.
Its was then by some fluke that I was talking to Jeri and we were complaining about pop-ups that she started talking about the 555 timer chip. Within the space of an hour myself and others who were talking to her watched the birth of the 555 contest. Since that point in time and mainly because of the increased talk about the contest I have found lots more engineers on Twitter from all over the world. I have had some great talks with them about the 555 contest, electronics and even plugged the firm I work for from time to time! Shameless I know!
As anyone who is already on Twitter will know that Chris Gammell is helping or is that running(.!?) the 555 contest and website and he also hosts The Amp Hour show with Dave (aka EEVBlog) as well as set up the Engineers Blogs website. Having meet Chris I asked about guest blogging on the engineering blogs site and have now written 5 blogs for them in total to date. I also have my own blog site which may not be popular and get low traffic but allows me to write whatever rubbish I want.
For me Twitter has helped me network with a great number of people and in this time I now have around 200 followers but more importantly I have new connections to some really interesting people who put out great content and interact with me. I have not changed my view of Twitter over the last 6 months however I have changed how I use it. Useful? I can’t believe I did not use it before! The value of having these contacts is almost impossible to calculate and I can only hope that I’m as valued a contributor as they are.
It has changed my engineering in a odd way - I’m now more engaged and excited about my work. I have people who, like me, get excited when I get an LED to blink for the first time. I also get to see how others work and have taken some of their ideas into my day job. I also follow a lot more larger firms and there news feeds. This has lead to me thinking about how I do my job in different ways that I had just not considered. So I would recommend to anyone who is already on Twitter to get more involved, and if you don't have an account then go get one!
Twitter is not about posting updates and links to interesting stuff - it allows access to a world of connections, information and honest feedback. It allows you to connect to real people and real engineers.
Paul aka @monpjc
mnphysicist
My twitter usage has evolved over time. Back in early 08, I poked around with it, and tried to see if there were any hardware guys around, and having no luck, put it aside for a few months. I then checked back in mid year, and again found no engineers, but did managed to connect up with a number of ministry and aviation folks, and figured ok I'll use twitter primarily for church and flying etc. Over time, I did connect with an engineer here or there and of course @digikey, but again it was rare. Then the 555 contest appeared, and it was like wow, its as if the photomultiplier effect kicked in and engineers came out of the woodwork everywhere. Even more so, it seems there is a wealth of artists with an electronic focus who are a real blast... its almost like having a collective to kick around blue sky R-D concepts like back at university all those years ago.
David Tarrant
The article rang a chord with me as I have been following a similar path. At first I think twitter can look a bit mystifying. I hear a lot of my colleagues and engineers saying "What do I want twitter for?” My response is just dive in! Start by following and listening and then communicate with like minded people.
LStacey
The way I see it, Twitter has gone through three phases.
Phase 1
Very useful tool that flew below the radar of non geeks and celebrities. Low volume, high value information.
Phase 2
Twitter hits mainstream. Everyone tweets garbage and goes follower mad. Twitter is noisy and hard to filter.
Phase 3
Better tools and more widespread understanding. Smaller niche networks with stronger connections are becoming more valuable.
I could and probably should write a blog post on this with more detail.
LStacey
Once again, you've hit the nail on the head!
Twitter is great for networking with like minds and because the centre of your network is YOU, those like minds can be as diverse as your own persona.
Twitter is a winner because it's useful and fun.
ChrisGammell
Wow, I really like how you put it in those last two sentences. If other engineers realize how many awesome people there are out there to connect with, I think many more people would join up. And the more people we have, the better off engineers on twitter will be.