As you may well be aware of, Twitter is all the rage these day. Everybody from my cycling icon, Lance Armstrong, to President Barack Obama has embraced it.
Why?
Because it allows one to easily connect with others in real-time via your computer’s browser or mobile phone.
If you’re new to Twitter and are looking for tips on how to use Twitter effectively, I recommend you visit Grant Griffith’s blog and read through his excellent resource titled 30 Days of Twitter Tips and Hints. Once digested, you’ll be well on your way to becoming a well-informed Twitter user.
If you’ve been around Twitter for awhile, then the next step is to implement Twitter into your blog. There are several ways to do this but my personal NEW favorite is to thread Twitter conversations into my own blog to stimulate conversations and produce a more forum-like atmosphere.
How is this accomplished?
Through a new Twitter-powered “microforum” called Tweetboard developed by 140ware.
As you’ll notice to the left of this blog post, there’s an unobtrusive small tab that floats on your screen which indicates the count of tweets since a viewer’s last visit. You can click on the tab to either post your own tweet, join in on the threaded conversation or view tweets and @ replies pulled in from my Twitter stream.
The neat thing about replies is that they show up in reference to the original message which in turn will generate a threaded conversation. From a doctor/patient standpoint, you can draw even more traffic to your blog if your patients know about this incredible feature.
For example, let’s say you posted a tweet that goes viral with your patients and other followers. Instead of watching for your response in their cluttered Twitter timeline, inform them about Tweetboard so that they can see the conversation unfold right on your blog’s home page in true friendly-forum fashion.
Also, when you post a tweet with an accompanying short URL through Tweetboard, the tweet routes users through your blog to activate the short URL.
Now, obviously, you don’t want to route all of your tweets through your blog unless you want to lose followers. However, the aforementioned method is advantageous when the link you’re referring to is found within your blog. It’ll produce a one-stop click for your followers generating more traffic to your blog as well as further discussion and conversation relevant to your content.
140ware is currently offering automatic approvals for alpha invite requests to Twitterers who make their request to @140ware in the following tweet:
“Requesting an invite for Tweetboard Alpha (http://tweetboard.com) by @140ware, for my site: http://ReplaceWithYourURL.com.”
To find out more about this ingenious tool, click on over to Tweetboard. You, your patients and your blog will thank you!
About Dr. Patrick MacNamara
Hey Doc. I really like the way Tweetboard looks. I do plan to put it on my blog as soon as I hear back from them. Oh, and thanks for the great mention and the link in this post. Your support is always appreciated.
Grant :: You’re welcome. When valuable content is generated, it’s worth the mention. I’ve enjoyed the tips myself!
Sweet! I just tweeted an invite request. That’s a pretty sharp blog accessory.
Dr. Harshe :: I think so! Grant and I used it yesterday and it does a great job of threading the conversation.