Trying Twitter

I am trying Twitter. I am on week two now and am not yet "in the groove." I keep trying to categorize what it is and what I am doing with it and I can't. So, what's a girl to do?

This girl will go back to this comment from Chris (Manager's Sandbox) in response to this post:

If I had to give you one piece of advice (and I recommend this to everyone), it's that social media is not about publishing content. It's about engaging in conversation. Blogs aren't about writing - they're about starting a discussion. Social networks aren't about gaining connections - they're about developing connections. Twitter isn't about getting followers - it's about engaging followers.

That's enough for me. Friends and family, get tweeting. HR, employment, social media professionals, find me if I am not finding you. Travel tips on family vacations to Italy? I am looking for you. Radical politicals need not apply. Can you say "block?"

I can in 140 characters or less.

I Simply Have Got To Know

Laurie Ruettimann, Punk Rock HR, has a wonderful, straight to the point post at Cheezehead.com about social networking. "Times are changing and HR professionals need to learn what it means to identify and acquire talent in the 21st century."

I appreciate the post because honestly, I have a lot to learn. I don't know what it really means to identify and acquire talent in the 21st Century. Ahh, that felt good. 

With Google Reader, this blog, and now Twitter,  I am dipping my toes into a very big pond. Each and every day, I feel that I am so close to something very unbelievably powerful, yet I don't know how to get right into the midst of it. 

As an HR leader, I want to know about "social networking, recruiting applications, and sourcing methodologies." I want to know how I can best mobilize my staff to "communicate with candidates using a mix of technology and old-fashioned recruiting skills."

I want to know about building relationships with people I can't reach out and touch (beware: my age is showing). Can I say that it is like jumping into the midst of new culture?

We are in the midst of a major transformation in how people communicate with each other. We have access to real time information 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We can get communicate with next door neighbor, the person we have yet to meet across the globe, and everyone in between.

It is simply amazing. I want to "get" it all but know that, literally, within minutes, what I "get" will be either be changed, improved, or replaced by something else.

So, my question to you is, "What do you do to keep your finger on the pulse?"

I simply have got to know.