Twitter Lessons – How your profile can increase transparency Posted on: 20/07/09 Category: Blog

As I study Twitter in my Twitter Class at the MCDM, I have found myself learning some aspects of Twitter that I’ve neglected in the past.  One of the big ones is the profile itself – particularly the background.  For my personal Twitter account, I simply chose a stock background because I didn’t think it mattered that much.  After looking at what other organizations are doing with their backgrounds, I’ve realized there is a lot of great information that can be added to a Twitter background, making the background far more important than I realized in the past.

One excellent use of the Twitter background is add transparency by showing who is actually in charge of Tweeting at the organization.  I think Microsoft does a great job with this.  By showing who is actually Tweeting, Microsoft is able to add a personal touch to a giant, faceless corporation.

The key elements Microsoft has chosen to include are the image, name, personal Twitter handle, and initials used when posting.  The initials added to the end of each Tweet allow followers to see exactly who is doing the posting.  Microsoft gets a thumbs up for their work on transparency, and this is something I hope to do in the future.

While I don’t agree with her politics, I’m also pretty impressed with Sarah Palin’s Twitter background.  You can see it at: http://twitter.com/akgovsarahpalin

So lesson – Twitter backgrounds can be useful, and look pretty awesome.  Hmm, I should probably get working on mine…