Today was a Sunday, and I got 36 pitch e-mails. Last Friday I got 134 pitch e-mails. My average is 70-80/day.
That’s why if you’re not following me on Twitter (listen up bands, labels and PR people), then you will never have my full attention.
I first discovered Twitter’s true impact during SXSW 2007, when it was the absolute buzzword and an essential tool for connecting with other conference-goers. Julio Ojeda-Zapata at the Pioneer Press included on of my tweets in his innovative Twitter summary that April. (NOTE: I can’t the article using the Pioneer Press archives nor Google [LAME!], but luckily I archived it here).
Twitter is a great tool for you to get to know me better. I update it maybe 5-15 times a day, whereas Perfect Porridge is updated maybe twice a day. Plus, I love sharing cool new bands I’ve discovered, reporting what song a band just played at a live show and especially bitching about clueless PR people who make unethical requests. If you’re not listening, you have no idea if I’m talking about you.
You can also find out what tunes I’m really, truly interested in, and it’s no secret the handful of people/bands who do pitch me using Twitter always get a near-immediate response. I’m telling you, that e-mail box is a black hole.
Today I was quoted in the Star Tribune, Keeping it short and tweet, talking about my beloved mobile social network.
Each tweet by Greg Swan, 27, of Eden Prairie goes out to more than 800 other Twitterers who follow his posts.”Anytime I tweet I’m letting down three-quarters of my followers,” Swan said, explaining his diverse audience of friends, industry peers, and fans of his Perfect Porridge entertainment site. “When I’m talking about my son, most of those people don’t care.”
Swan maintains some privacy by not posting his photograph and by never discussing work clients. Otherwise, he’s in the Twitter mix and claims the site has made him more real friends (the kind where you meet face to face) than all other online networking sites combined.
That’s a true fact I cite often for clients of my day job.
I’ve been in the Twin Cities-area for five years and the best friends I have truly resulted from connections enabled by Twitter. The social network allows you to “sample” friendship… to try someone out; see if they’re worth investing in. If they indeed are, then you can take it a step further. Or say you just met someone at a concert or networking event. Follow their tweets and you may just find yourself standing in front of First Avenue between sets with a new best friend.
In the words of the great LeVar Burton, you don’t have to take my word for it. Follow me, and see what happens.
GREG SWAN 