Even as we debate the ongoing utility of Twitter and other social tools, there are still ways to get good information from social sites.
One easy way to cut through the noise is to use your personal network for recommendations. Assuming you consider this blog a trusted source, I have a couple recommendations for you.
Tim (@planspark) wrote a post yesterday about the official Oracle accounts on Twitter, along with some metrics.
If you’re thinking that “official” means broadcast-only, don’t worry. There are real people on these accounts, answering questions. Just look at Chet’s conversations with @oracleopenworld if you need an example. Don’t go nuts though; you get any confidential information, just like in any Oracle blog.
In addition to the official accounts, the Oracle community has been active on Twitter for quite some time, making it pretty easy to get help and answers about Oracle. If you’re interested in widening your Oracle-related list of tweeters, check out the list over a the Oracle Wiki and make sure to add yourself.
I haven’t looked at the list in quite a while, but it’s over 150 now, up from about 40 when I started it in early 2008.
Keep in mind, the list isn’t an officially sanctioned one; it’s just a place to find people who work with Oracle products and like to talk, blog and tweet about them, some employees, some not.
I noticed a post on Connect the other day by Chris Warticki (@cwarticki), who works in support. He’s been tweeting support tips of the day (TotD) for a while now, in case you’re interested. Today’s tip is:
Seems pretty timely, good advice, and I would only add that leveraging the people you know and trust is the best way to build your circle of influence.
Yesterday’s launch of the redesigned home page shows that Twitter is growing into its value as an information source. If you’re not logged in, you’ll notice search is front and center, along with the trending topics for right now, the day and the week. As I’ve noted in the past, social search is a big win for me on Twitter, again vetted against an extended network I trust.
So now, it’s even easier to get information out of Twitter, even if you don’t have an account.
You may be thinking I’ve gone off the reservation–dissing social last week, back on the bandwagon this week. Maybe. My frustration is based around how it’s getting tougher to find value in the midst of so much noise.
Stick with a network of strong and weak ties that you trust, and you’ll still find value. That’s what I’m doing for now.
At least I haven’t quit, yet.
Find the comments.
