Some people may look at people who use Twitter (aka tweeple = tweeps who tweet) quizzically. I’d say different strokes for different folks, especially when it comes to embracing new ways (and modern tools) for communicating.

I believe in diversity. I enjoy creative pursuits (and how creative can it get when you have to consistently condense your thoughts into 140 characters)? I enjoy the versatility that social media platforms such as Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+ offer for interacting with people from various backgrounds and interests. As a marketer, you want to learn about various people’s interests, passions and what matters to them most. You cannot afford to be silo-ed.

More importantly, as an individual with an innate curiosity, I believe each and every person has something valuable to teach you.

Optimizing is key

This article came about because a number of friends have asked me how I use social media and how they can also learn to use it.

People who have not used social media (or Twitter) may trounce it as a time waster and ask what’s the whole point to it? Usually, these are the people who have not tried social media before, or have only tried Facebook and had difficulty ‘getting’ Twitter.

Contrary to popular belief, it does not have to be a time waster.

Of course, you can’t do everything. If you have defined your goals for delving into social media and know what you are looking for, you tune into it and don’t get sidetracked – consistently hone in on this and prioritize.

Facebook is not really my platform of choice and I keep my FB time to a minimum. My focus is my network on Twitter which is quite diverse and where most of my conversations are.

I listen and tune in on what’s happening on the ground in digital media, culture, technology and marketing.

Instead of being in a ‘numbers’ race, it’s about sharing value consistently. In addition to sharing content from others, posting original content – content you create yourself – is the best way to go.

70% of the time I curate and share content I find to be interesting. 20-25% of the time is taking the time to connect with my network. A small 5-10% is about day-to-day events.

I tweet irregularly, more often on Fridays, breaking news and over the weekend. I spend most of my social media time on LinkedIn and Twitter and now, increasingly on Google+.

I use Instagram moderately. I don’t really dabble much with Klout. I’ve never tried Empire Avenue. I’ve tried foursquare and Quora once but that’s about it. (Offhand, I do enjoy Angry Birds once in a while).

You can optimize your social media time during your downtime and waiting time during the day. These small pockets of time help.

Speaking of downtime, I make an effort to have an ‘unplugging ritual’ often – a time when I am not on the computer, iPad or iPhone. I’ve learnt that if you don’t learn to slow down and reboot, you’ll get too caught up in the speed of things and incoming emails that you can easily lose sight of what is important.

The Creative Pause

During the day, I take brief pauses to look at my notes and finetune my lists a lot.

Scott Belsky says its best about the value of the “creative pause” – a state described as “the shift from being fully engaged in a creative activity to being passively engaged, or the shift to being disengaged altogether” in this article.

Last but not least, Twitter promotes a wide-reaching community spirit. Due to its brevity (users have to think hard on how to make their communication succint) and the way it works, the nasty is easily weeded out, and pay-it-forward-isms prevail.

Creativity and gratitude is in abundance. Enjoy the conversations.