What a strange and powerful tool – Twitter, Ashton and me

Posted on April 19, 2009 by avatar

Earlier today, I retweeted a post about the ways in which Ashton Kutcher (@aplusk) and Oprah Winfrey (@oprah) were using Twitter incorrectly. This caught the attention of Ashton Kutcher – who I’m fairly confident does all his own tweeting – and he sent me a note.

He asked why I felt that his Tweeting technique was wrong. In that astonishing moment I was frank with him that I thought he was actually playing in the Twittersphere correctly but Oprah was naive and untrained in her use of this social media tool.

Be that interpretation what it is, the thing that surprised me the most was that this celebrity took the time to interact. Ashton Kutcher sent me an @ message and then he followed me.

That’s right. The King (nay Jester) of Twitter – with 1.2Million followers added me to the list of people he’s following. I’m number 82.

Now this situation might change when Ashton realizes I like to talk about journalism and the Red Sox and that I’m barely versed in the nuances of today’s music. He might dislike people from Boston who ride scooters and sometimes report for NPR. And that might be the end of this journey and conversation with Ashton.

But I am a tech reporter and he likes to use technology, so I might linger. And this lingering might be a direct result of our open exchange on Twitter.

You see, within moments of his note to me, my email box became full and my own Twitter following count jumped up by 2%. That was within seconds. I wonder what might happen when we talk again…on a weekday…when more people see it.

How very crazy that the very power Ashton talked of during his interview with Oprah on Friday is manifesting itself right here in this very personal way.

What are your thoughts on this real and remarkable exchange?

What would you share with Ashton – or with Oprah – if they were following you?

What would you want them to share with you?

For now, I’m going to see what I can learn about the challenges of celebrity now that the walls have been removed. It’s intriguing and exciting to share some of that power Ashton spoke of last week.

I hope he keeps the conversation going.

Keep reading!

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12 Responses to What a strange and powerful tool – Twitter, Ashton and me

  1. ZuDfunck says:
    April 19, 2009 at 10:07 pm

    Thats very cool
    There are leaders
    There are followers
    Then there are tech reporters

    ZuDfunck’s last blog post..ZuDfunck: We’ve been Duped! #motherload

  2. Ari Herzog says:
    April 20, 2009 at 1:00 am

    He sent you a message and he followed you. He didn’t send you additional messages? Apparently not, according to his twitter stream. Yet, I’ve routinely engaged in back-and-forth tweeting with @MCHammer and @KevinPollak. My take is Ashton has lots to learn.

    Here’s a suggestion: You help Ashton with conversation, and our mutual friend @SteveGarfield can help Oprah with using @ names.

    Ari Herzog’s last blog post..Guest Post by Ethan Yarbrough: Lessons Learned

  3. suZen says:
    April 20, 2009 at 3:46 pm

    I saw this exchange and thought you were rather naive to call him out like that in the first place. The reason Ashton is/was popular on twitter is BECAUSE he interacts with people. He asks questions, he selectively responds (just as anyone can choose to do) and he retweets. Just because he’s not following lots of people doesn’t mean he doesn’t often respond to @ replies.

    No one has to have long conversations with ANYONE on twitter to show they’re using it “right.” Likewise, no one has to read every tweet in order to do so, either. We all get to choose.

    As far as Oprah goes, she’s been on for a few days – your criticism is wholly premature.

    suZen’s last blog post..suZen: @realhughjackman I suggest kiva.org for the charitable contribution. Microloans are granted and paid back again & again – it keeps giving.

  4. jeff says:
    April 20, 2009 at 5:01 pm

    suZen – Thanks for the thoughts. My comments were based on my perceptions. I gave Ashton props the other day – Friday I believe – for actually being real. The primary person with whom I was disappointed was Oprah.

    She’s the most powerful woman in the world, especially the media world, and she doesn’t know enough about this conversational tool to click UPDATE?

    Gimme a break. She spends more on handlers and aides in a year than you and I make in a decade. If you’re going to be the beacon for social media tools to your millions of viewers and fans, learn the stuff.

    A simple call to me or even some off-air time with Ashton would have put her in better stead to show the world what Twitter is all about.

    Thanks for reading.

    Jeff

  5. suZen says:
    April 20, 2009 at 5:14 pm

    And yet she’s the one who brought skype and interaction with her audience to daytime TV.

    Give her time.

    suZen’s last blog post..suZen: Second day in a row http://weather.com has reported low 70s while http://accuweather.com has reported 96 & feels like 101. Accuweather wins.

  6. jeff says:
    April 20, 2009 at 5:34 pm

    suZen – Well played. You’re right, she was astute enough to at least start playing with tech (Kindle, etc.) when everyone else was still ignoring the increasing reach of these tools.

    I think I’m going to hang out here and write a short form of Twitter for Dummies.

    With this recent contest and Oprah’s entry into Twitter, there are going to be legions of people who don’t know a DM from a RT from a RR from an @.

    Hang tight, I’ll be done in 40 minutes.

    Jeff

  7. suZen says:
    April 20, 2009 at 5:38 pm

    Good idea. I have several people I’ll point to it. I’ve been giving lessons to friends/colleagues lately.

    suZen’s last blog post..suZen: Second day in a row http://weather.com has reported low 70s while http://accuweather.com has reported 96 & feels like 101. Accuweather wins.

  8. suZen says:
    April 20, 2009 at 5:41 pm

    Also, one more thing about Oprah:

    She’s great at what she does because she puts herself in the place of her audience – asking the questions a “newbie” would ask. She often asks not to know things in advance so she can approach any topic as her audience would for the first time. This includes reacting to a news story, showing discomfort over learning something new, expressing not knowing how to do something so her “expert” will explain it fully to audience members hearing about something for the first time.

    suZen’s last blog post..suZen: Second day in a row http://weather.com has reported low 70s while http://accuweather.com has reported 96 & feels like 101. Accuweather wins.

  9. Gerry Corbett says:
    April 20, 2009 at 5:46 pm

    Jeff:

    Well done! At the end of the day, though, Twitter and other tools are about providing value and adding something of substance to people. In observing celebs, it seems to be about numbers, its seems to be about building followers, it seems to be about generating interest for TV shows or celeb ventures. Let’s get back to providing wisdom, to helping folks solve problems or build communities or get a job.

    Keep up the good work.

  10. Ari Herzog says:
    April 20, 2009 at 7:10 pm

    suZen– While Oprah may excel at playing the audience card, the fact remains she is introducing new technologies to her audience and because she’s doing it, they do it too, but because she’s not explaining how things work (maybe because she doesn’t know), her fans/followers join, get confused, and give up.

    A few weeks ago, Howard Stern talked about Twitter on his radio show when he/they joined as @sternshow. Within hours, I ran twitter searches and saw hundreds–HUNDREDS–of questions asking @sternshow how this and that worked. Who’s answering them? Who’s answering Oprah’s new followers?

    What works on TV does not necessarily translate to online media. That’s where Jeff can help.

    Ari Herzog’s last blog post..GoDaddy Essentially Changes its Name to Big Brother

  11. jeff says:
    April 20, 2009 at 8:45 pm

    Next post is up. What WOULD Oprah Do? http://tinyurl.com/cpbwhs

    Feel free to share it.

    And please comment if there’s something I’ve missed.

    Jeff

  12. Wayne says:
    April 21, 2009 at 2:06 am

    Very nice article.

    Here’s my latest Twitter web comic: http://bit.ly/VAc15

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