Local Twitter Community on the Rise – Part II: The @Pleasantville Project

On the other hand, convincing fellow merchants that Twitter might hold some tangible benefits to their business is not always an easy task. The reasons for not wanting to be a part of this online community almost always stem from a lack of understanding about what Twitter is. “What if someone posts negative comments on my site?” one local business owner asked me last week. “I don’t have time to read all the messages,” said another.

Most of the stated objections are easily overturned with facts and logic (No one else can make a post on your account, and you needn’t read any message on Twitter that you don’t want to read) but often an underlying fear of the unknown is what’s holding the person back. The reality of the matter is, Twitter is a free communication tool with some very real benefits. The downside, on the other hand, is virtually non-existent.

So instead of focusing my efforts on converting the uninterested, I’ve decided to use my energies to highlight the ways Twitter is being used well. There are dozens of individuals and organizations right in Pleasantville who are making excellent use of Twitter. There are many more in the surrounding towns. I talked about several of them — JBFC_NY, FlourandSun, MidWestchester and Joe_Wallace – last week, but there are many more interesting stories all around us.

As the manager of the @Pleasantville account, I read quite a few tweets in the course of a day. These 140-character messages are created by a diverse group of people who are linked (for the most part) by their interest in the Pleasantville community. Occasionally, a tweet makes such an impression that I’m compelled to hit the “favorite” button. Weeks later, it’s interesting to go back and review the list. Although my method for selecting favorites is far from scientific, it’s notable that some of the same names keep popping up again and again. (One note: I manage more than one account, so some of my “favorites” may not appear on the @Pleasantville account.)

As this @Pleasantville Project continues, I will attempt to learn a little more about the people behind the tweets. One individual I noticed a while back was Briarcliff Manor’s Peter Barossi, a multimedia producer who has developed, produced and shot film and video projects in several genres.  I first noticed Barossi when he posted the following Tweet from his @PeterBarossi account:

First New York State politician that tweets me gets my vote in the next election… I may even trow in a keychain! 12:13 PM May 13th from TweetDeck

A short time later, New York State Senator Suzi Oppenheimer responded, and even notified Barossi of a typographical error on his post. (Many of Oppenheimer’s posts have since been taken off the public timeline).

Barossi had been trying to get answers from New York State politicians about what he described as an “archaic” law which requires pending LLCs to post legal notices in both a weekly and daily local news publication before the LLC can become a legal entity. “Since then we have tweeted, emailed and phoned back and forth a few times about the issue. I don’t know if it will make a difference, but at least I know that someone is aware.”

Barossi left his position at a respected NYC interactive firm in March of this year to start his own production company, and to pursue freelance opportunities. While acknowledging that it is a challenging time to start such a venture, he is encouraged by what he sees as a growing demand for video content, especially for the web. His new company, Dravot Carnehan, LLC is currently going through the legal formation process. The URL http://www.dravot-carnehan.com will take you to his current freelance website.

So how has Barossi used Twitter to benefit his career? “After 10 years in a staff position at one company, I realized that my professional network was rather small,” said Barossi. “I needed a quick way to get to know who the talented people are and what kind of work they are doing. I also wanted them to get to know me. In less than 3 months I have built a respectable list of followees and followers in the film, business and local communities. I now have contacts all over the US as well as Europe. I can ask them advice, see what they are working on, and tap into their networks.”

Barossi is also enthusiastic about Twitter’s future at the local level. “I think it is absolutely the best way to build an online local community. It’s about thoughts and words not images. It’s about getting your message out as clearly and efficiently as possible. That’s how you build a community. I want to meet other community members that have the same appreciation for Westchester that I do and are trying to spread the word.” He cited @PhilAlbinus, @Bewildia and @MidWestchester as a few outstanding local tweeps.

Another local Twitter contributor I noticed a few months ago was Pleasantville’s David Oliver, one of @Pleasantville’s first 10 followers. Oliver, who can be found on Twitter @DavidMOliver , runs a small mobile software consultancy, with clients mostly from New York City and the Northeast. Oliver writes software that supports Twitter access from mobile devices, including iPhone, TMobile G1, Blackberry and the Palm Pre. Oliver’s business website is http://olivercoady.com/ .

Oliver says he finds Twitter useful, but not all-encompassing. “I find Twitter useful in a ‘keeping tabs’ kind of way, and an ‘adds interest’ kind of way.” Twitter is not the center of his universe, he says, ” but I do make sure I check in daily and monitor what my friends are up to.” TwitPic is Oliver’s favorite Twitter application, because “it means that a person doing something interesting can provide a nearly-live feed of information to his/her community of friends.”

When asked about Twitter’s use in building local online communities, Oliver’s thoughts seem mixed. “There are reasons to believe that support for localities is valid and useful,” he said. “I think it could be a valid vehicle for dialog between community members. There is another question, though, as to my interest in joining a ‘local community’ of Twitter users. I’m not sure I want my twitspace taken over by local causes or complaints about the neighbors, or whatever. However, it might be a good place for local government to ‘broadcast’ what’s happening.”

Oliver’s actual updates on Twitter include many that are exactly what a local online community should have. He tweets about his children’s activities and accomplishments, about local businesses and about community events that affect his life.

Oliver spoke, however, about the challenge Twitter presents by allowing a user to have a single ‘community’ of followers and followees. “When I send information out, that information might cater to some, not to others, for example: technical thoughts on mobile software; my curiosity as to why the recycling guys always leave an item or two in my front yard; as well as my musings about the beauty of the current day. Therefore, much of what I tweet could be considered ‘spam’ by people who might see Twitter as a ‘local’ channel.

Oliver concluded, saying “Cynically, Twitter is just another tool valued by people who want to have a voice bigger than they naturally have. This is human nature – the need to be recognized. And as with all things on the Internet, there are good uses of Twitter and bad uses of Twitter. And again, as with all new things, Twitter will take time to balance out.”

Pound Ridge’s David Parmet is a social media consultant, who is a prolific Tweeter with nearly 6,000 updates sent. Parmet also writes an informative and useful local blog.  He can be found on Twitter @DavidParmet. Parmet also has a website for his consulting business, http://www.parmet.net/pr/.

TWITTER TIDBITS – Noticed a Twitter post from Greenburgh Town Supervisor @PaulFeiner that requested lawn-cutting help for a man who was unable to get the job done himself because of health issues. Less than a week later, Feiner reported on Twitter that another resident had come to the man’s assistance…   More and more, I’m being asked about Twitter as I travel around my local community. Was pleased to see @PCTV76 join Twitter yesterday. Pleasantville TV station may be one of the local organizations best suited for Twitter. They can promote their great new website, and post links to their excellent video content right on Twitter… @SundanceDeli also joined Twitter in the past week. They already have a very useful website http://SundanceDeli.net, and I’m enthused to see how they use Twitter….  Also a big welcome to Matt Jaros who signed up his retail business Glass Onion Originals, @GlassOnionOrgnl…   Looking forward to the two remaining sessions of the Social Media Primer being taught by Gerald Stern, (@GMStern) of WOW Productions. This series of classes is sponsored by the Pleasantville Chamber of Commerce…  Just started paying more attention to the Twitter account managed by medical malpractice attorney and blogger @AndyBarovick. He makes good use of Twitter, and some of his blog posts have addressed timely and interesting local issues…. I also already have interviews planned with a couple of other local Twitter users in the works. Stay tuned…  If you are interested in getting more involved in the local Twitter community, you can exchange ideas, ask questions or provide information by commenting on any of these blog posts, or by using the Contact Us form. Comments on the blog post are greatly appreciated, and certainly help promote the prominence of this forum. Feel free to post a relevant URL in your comment. Happy Twittering!

Twitter Professor is not affiliated with Twitter.com. Chris S. Cornell is not actually a professor (he runs Pleasantville’s Cornell Gallery Custom Frame Shop in his spare time and you can also follow him @CornellGallery), but he is interested in helping build local Twitter communities.  If you have questions or need help with Twitter, give Chris a call at (914) 741-1203. Feel free to add constructive comments, questions or criticisms in the comments section of this blog.