Tao of Twitter.

It takes a lot for me to finish reading a book. I always start them, but I seem to get bored or lost somewhere in the middle of them. That didn't seem to be the case for this one. Social media expert, Mark Schaefer, wrote a book titled The Tao of Twitter, and needless to say it is a must read. Whether you are a Twitter amateur or professional this book should be added to your reading list. In his book, Mark starts off by saying it is time you "enjoy the benefits of the most powerful business networking system that has ever existed." My immediate reaction was WOW Twitter has come so far from when I first started using it. Having had an internship in social media, I have acquired more than the basic knowledge of various social media platforms so I thought what is this book really going to tell me that I don't already know?  Well to my surprise I gleaned some very valuable insights from this book. One of the biggest lessons that continually showed up in the book was that networking doesn’t occur by chance in the traditional business world, and it doesn’t occur by chance alone on the social web either. Twitter if used to its fullest potential is the most valuable networking tool for a college graduate and really anyone. That was something I always knew but never really sat down and focused on the power of networking via social media. You have to surround yourself with a community of influencers because maybe there’s one chance a reaction will occur and lead to something. Be intentional in the people you follow on Twitter. Insert yourself in the conversation and engage in communication with your followers. Another huge point that was made in the Tao of Twitter was to be yourself. Sounds pretty cliché but stop and think about what humans want to interact with... other genuine humans and if you aren't yourself, you will soon lose interest in trying to be something you are not. I ended the book with a challenge to myself-- share and produce content that showed my whole personality and to not sell myself short. Twitter is about sharing content for humans, not search engines. Now is the time to put all of this book into action so join me the conversation--shameless plug-- follow me @leahcharrington, because I would love to connect with you!