There have been occasions lately when I have questioned whether I was born in the wrong generation. Unlike many of my peers, I am quite comfortable with Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, Digg, StumbleOn, Delicious, and many other  social media sites. Now, having time to keep up with it all is another thing. But, what I have found is that I don’t have the inherent distrust or concern about these sites as do some of my 40-something friends, or 60- to 70-something parents.

One thing that has actually made me quite passionate about using Twitter is the community of photographers that I have befriended. The great thing is that many of the photographers are at different stages of their careers. I’ve met beginners, hobbyists, new professionals and seasoned veterans. Each has a different and/or unique perspective of photography.  I’ve come across people who photograph babies, seniors (I keep thinking I’m going to see pictures of AARP members), weddings, food, architecture…you name it.

What’s interesting is that I have only met a couple of the people I’ve “befriended or follow online. Most of my interaction is done online — by way of tweets, @___ replies, direct messages and profile posts. Back in February, Gary Vaynerchuk admonished my wife to “get in the trenches,” as it related to social media and online marketing. Though the advice was not directed to me at the time, it has stuck with me. My goal, at this point, is less about marketing, and more about learning, growing and connecting. Being at the nascent stage of my photography career, I’m humble enough to know that I’ve got a lot to learn.

I admit that I got on a Twitter as a lark. It was really an extension of my Facebook activities. One of the initial perks of Twitter was that I could update my Facebook page with my status updates. Sweet, I thought. I could kill two birds with one stone. Little did I know the power of networking and community lurking right beneath the surface. I am frequently online looking at the work of many photographers. I noticed that an increasing number of photographers had a Twitter icon on their site. Not soon after following two or three photographers, I started to see tweets with links to the works of other photographers, articles on photography, events and exhibits, etc. The beauty of the 140-word updates is that you can quickly scan them, and extract useful information.

Just as with forums, it does take some work to be active on Twitter. If you have more than handful of people you follow, it can take good amount of time to read through updates that trick in throughout the day. In fact, I’m amazed when I see someone following thousands of people. I don’t know how it’s done. At the time of this post, I follow about 160 people. A good number of these people do not update their status with any particular frequency. There are some high-volume tweeters on my list, and I can count on seeing their face easily filling up a page. As the saying goes, you have to separate the wheat from the chafe. Most of the tweets I get are from people sharing incredibly useful information. Many of the people I follow have returned the favor by becoming a follower. It’s like a little gift when I receive a response or direct message with comments, feedback or links to information.

Because of sites like Twitter and Facebook, the paradigm is shifting. Now don’t get me wrong. I am the same person who, several threads back, talked about the reticence to use post-processing software. I also stated that I am not a full-fledged Luddite. It’s selective. I am incredibly excited about the prospect of having my photography career blossom with the assistance of Twitter and Facebook. Clearly, my success or failure will be defined on the quality of my work and the receptivity of people to that work. The networking through Twitter (and other sites) is already paying dividends by expanding my community of friends and colleagues. I’d like to think that I am approaching Twitter with the right spirit. Meet, join and become active in a larger community.  That’s what it’s all about—to me. If I had to guess, those who are on Twitter with rather transparent marketing goals, will wear on people and are really missing the point and power of Twitter and the exponentially-growing community of Twits.

social media, technology