Twitter Success Story

It has been a long dry spell for DolomiteSport posts. When I looked at the reasons why, I discovered we have been very busy with work and play, both of which have been recently influenced by using Twitter – so I thought to do a write up about how we have brought Twitter into use for personal and business reasons.

Twitter friends Jim & Dana getting ready for the Maratona dles Dolomites

But this is a Mountain Sport site… how does a post about Twitter work in relation to the Dolomites, Sports, or Inspired Mountain Living? For me, quite a lot. Twitter, while seemingly a waste of time at first glance, is an amazing tool to connect people. While Facebook has taken over for monitoring what people are up to, Twitter takes it one step further and gets you connected and engaged with other people who you share an interest with. For whatever reason, Twitter directly connects you with people like yourself, and it allows a better platform from which to interact with others.

When Twitter first came out I had a look, my first impression was, “Ridiculous”. Some time later I gave it a go, and after playing with it, gaining some followers, following my own feeds, I began to get it. Then, I really began to get it. After fine tuning who I follow, getting rid of the boring ones or those just wanting to sell things, I suddenly had a very interesting group of people and businesses from whom I gain valuable information about events, travel, things to do, and most importantly, interesting people to meet.

It isn’t just about gleaning info… Throughout my Twitter history, one of my closest friends was met, Italian Mountain Guide Alberto De Giuli (@albertodegiuli). And just last week, numerous cyclists came together in the Dolomites for the Maratona dles Dolomites, all of whom (us) met on Twitter. We spent some great days together cycling the passes and then enjoying local cuisine in the evenings. There was a lot of laughter about the fact that we all met via Twitter, but there we were, gathered in an amazing place, sharing a great experience and all truly like minded and friends to be.

This is what makes Twitter great. Not just the Tweets but the real conversations and connections. Of course we use Twitter to promote our photography, and even more, we use it to direct people seeking information about Mountain Sports and the Dolomites to this very website. It works. Our trail running tours hosted by Holimites (@holimites) have filled with people who followed us on Twitter when we ran it last summer. This summer, they are doing it.

How does Twitter Work?

Once you have a Twitter account, start to find those you would like to follow, see who your friends are following and who is following them. Start making connections. This will change over time as you discover some seemingly interesting Twitterers are actually big bores. For me, the Twitterers I quickly drop are those that only broadcast themselves, clearly read nothing of what others write, never engage anyone, or tweet every single thing they do. For these, the Un-Follow button is the next step. Ciao! It is interesting to note how many big outdoor industry companies fall into this category, “Check out our…” over and over again. Interestingly, over time I have noticed I follow companies less and individuals more. Probably because the companies are less likely to actually engage anyone, and ultimately, I am seeking friends and networking opportunities, not info about products.

Jim & Dana Road Biking the Passo delle Erbe, Dolomites

Don’t just broadcast, interact – this is communication. Re-Tweet what others post if you think it is worthy of sharing, comment on things, consider who you follow and who follows you to be your friend for in time they may become just that. Twitter is all about getting engaged, whether it be through actual Twittering replies, Re-Tweets, or behind the scenes messaging (Twitter works like a direct message service as well).

If there is a big event going on; the Tour de France, Western States 100, Tour du Mont Blanc, etc… look around for the live feeds and you can have all the info streaming to you if you are out and about.

And Lists… Lists are key; They are like categories. I have my News List, Cycling, Mountain Athletes, and so on. If I only want to read the news, I go to my News list, and there I do not have to see what my cycling friends are up to.

Finally, getting to know Twitter takes both time and a finely tuned list of those you follow. Agreed, it is quite silly at first. But for the mountain sport athlete there is endless info out there, fun people to meet, and some very cool things going on being shared via Twitter posts. Lance Armstrong is the perfect example.

Dubrovnik, Croatia

Best Twitter Applications

I use Nambu on my Mac Desktop for 90% of my Twittering – it is nearly perfect.  If I need to schedule work Tweets, or monitor my Stats, I use HootSuite.

On the iPhone I use Twittelator and HootSuite for iPhone. For working with photos, to make them more interesting (Dubrovnik photo example), we use Photogene, Tilt Shift Gen, Lo Mob and Camera Bag.

We can be followed via:

@patitucciphoto – Our photo business

@dolomitesport – Our primary account for fun mountain sports, photos, trips and networking

@dolomitenetwork – Where we support great businesses and tourism opportunities within the Italian Dolomites

And, hint hint, we have a really great collection of people to follow…

Do you have experiences on Twitter? If so, good or bad, please share in our Comments section below.

Some recently Tweeted photos from Mountain Sports Fun & Travel

Cow Bike standoff

Croatia

Dolomites Mountain Biking

Dolomites Trail Running

Dolomites Road Biking

Mountain Biking Dolomites

Peaceful road biking

Dolomites Camp