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Great post. I’ve just recently started using Twitter to ask my local indie bookstore if they have certain titles in stock before I make the trip to the store. Via Twitter, they’ll confirm that they have the book and offer to hold it for me until the weekend.
Sure, there’s a chain store closer, but their online inventory is often wrong (it’ll say there’s one copy in stock, but then it won’t be), or the employees can’t find it on the shelves.
To be honest, I rarely shopped at this particular indie before Twitter, but being connected on Twitter makes me feel more connected to the store, and therefore more likely to make the extra effort to buy from them.
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Thanks, Erin. It’s great to hear how Twitter is working to bring folks closer to their local indies. The more testimony we can collect the more willing stores will be to get involved in social media and thus reinforce their connections with their community.
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Pingback from Booksellers Blog on September 19, 2009 at 11:39 am
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really great post, Rich. I also like that you said Twitter isn’t the be-all and end-all. Last night I listened/viewed in on “BookChatter” on ustream.tv (http://www.ustream.tv/channel/bookchatter) I found out about it via Twitter, and was really hooked. It’s sort of a social media mashup. And, i luv blogs, and while i’m kind of meh about Facebook — pretty much everyone else in the bookish community seems to have taken to Facebook so I go there and check it out once in awhile.
Another cool thing about social media is how it can keep you in touch with your friends and customers (who are often one in the same) in between the face to face encounters. It doesn’t replace that in person time, but it enhances it dramatically.
So, kudos for the post — keep them coming. 🙂 (and thanks for the FollowReader shoutout!)
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After signing up for Twitter, I’ve bought more books from Tweet recommendations than for any other reason. I follow bookstores that aren’t even located in my state and, while I may not necessarily buy from them, I do pay attention to what they’re recommending and will even click onto their websites for ideas.
I’ll re-tweet if they post about events on the slim chance that someone from their area is following me…and I’ve even taken to visiting some of my local indies if they tweet about events far enough in advance for me to plan for.
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Hi Lee,
I think your comment illustrates a little-remarked-upon aspect of social media, the way it can give people friends in different cities (or at least give people access to local’s perspectives). Before I travel I’ll check Twitter for chatter about bookstores/events/restaurants/things that interest me in the city I’m going to, and I’ll give those mentions more weight that whatever Google throws up because the twitter discussion is often between locals discussing/retweeting their favorite local enterprises — not just whoever can pay for a flashy website and take out lots of ads.
So while you as an individual may not purchase from a store/person you interact with on Twitter, your retweets can influence others.
BTW, glad you mentioned that people should tweet about events in advance to allow people to plan. Someone told me recently that they only tweet about events on the day of, because they perceive Twitter as a completely “in the moment” platform. I don’t agree with that assessment when it comes to getting the word out (although it’s spot on when it comes to conversation) and it’s good to see that I’m not alone.
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Terrific post, Rich. I wish I were going to be at SIBA for your panel, but I’ll be a bit busy at the MBA trade show in St. Paul instead. Thanks for posting your notes.
I’m in complete agreement with you about staying in the flow of the conversation daily – I feel like I’m really missing out on some part of my work life on days when I’m too busy to be online even just a little. Staying on top of some of the Twitter conversations about books and publishing with my online friends may not be the most important part of the day, but its one of the most inspiring for me – great ideas, great book recommendations, and introductions to like-minded people around the world.
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Late to the party, but Rich, I really liked this post. I like the idea of being part of an uber-conversation, which is really how I’ve always regarded novel-writing. One question I have has to do with TIME. I wonder how much of our time social media eats, and if it necessarily leaves less time to read newspapers, magazines, and BOOKS? Love your thoughts.
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Hi Masha,
Yes, I guess fiction writing is another huge uber-conversation — and a fascinating one. As for time, yes, last week I certainly read very little fiction for fun because I was working on this blog post and playing with Glue. This week I’m doing better — I began Marc Fitten’s hilarious Valeria’s Last Stand, last night. I’m not an exclusive fiction reader, so the line between articles posted online on business & technology and books on those subjects is sort-of irrelevant for me.
Bear in mind, I’m lucky to post one blog update per week, so I’m not a heavy blogger. Some book bloggers I know seem to read more when they have the feeling of upcoming deadline to post their reviews.
Twitter doesn’t take much time for me. I tend to tweet between other tasks, while cooking (the iPhone seems pretty splatter-proof), and while waiting for kids at school/dentist/haircut/etc. So from that perspective, I have replaced magazine reading with tweeting/reading online.
I haven’t bought print newspapers for years, sorry. I read the Guardian online daily, the NYT irregularly and whatever articles in other papers people are talking about. I rarely watch TV news either, if that makes you feel better. I don’t think it’s a case of social media eating the time I would otherwise spend reading newspapers, I think it’s just that I access the coverage online (so maybe paywalls are a good idea?).
I must say that in my case, I use social media to talk/think about work more than just for socializing, and that has definitely increased the portion of my day that I spend on ‘work,’ whether paid or not. I feel that a lot of people in the media/content-creation sectors are using social media like that. Friends that have more-traditional 9-5 jobs don’t seem to be talking/theorizing about their work much online, but that’s just my highly unscientific sampling of friends. Of course, they look to be playing Bejeweled & Mobsters all the time, so that might be eating into their recreational reading time…
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