What I read in what you're saying is what I ultimately believe: twitter is just another way to meet people who you might want to follow up with.

Like any other networking meeting – trade associations, seminars, conferences, (and cocktail parties), etc., there will be people who go to socialize, and there will be people who network with intention. Twitter will just make it easier to make and nurture connections.

And, like all the other networking contexts, for me it's not about how many people in the room get my business card (the number of followers), it's about the few high quality and qualified people that I can help, or that can help me to do something together that benefits us both.

What I read in what you’re saying is what I ultimately believe: twitter is just another way to meet people who you might want to follow up with.

Like any other networking meeting – trade associations, seminars, conferences, (and cocktail parties), etc., there will be people who go to socialize, and there will be people who network with intention. Twitter will just make it easier to make and nurture connections.

And, like all the other networking contexts, for me it’s not about how many people in the room get my business card (the number of followers), it’s about the high quality and qualified people that I can help, or that can help me to do something together that benefits us both.

At first, I felt a little star-struck. A few of them sent "direct messages" which, unless you turn this feature off, arrive in your email. Even getting DM's from a few "celebrities" in the industry, I was still doubtful, I figured it probably came from their secretaries.

I had an interesting back and forth with someone who ran boot camps in the Canary Islands, I thought that was a cool international exchange, but was it successful marketing?

As you only get 140 character long messages, it becomes a creative copy-writing challenge to fashion an interesting "tweet". I almost always manage to plaster my website in the tweet, leaving even less room for content. Even your bio can only be 160 characters. (a cute one I saw was "I tweet, therefore I am")

The more I went on, I realized it was just a lot of marketers trying to sell and I became less enthused with "Twitterland". I thought I could find real clients that would want to sign up, read my blog, and ultimately want to buy my e-book or do coaching sessions with me… in short build my list!

Once I got one direct message from someone offering a course on Twitter and how to use it to effectively grow your list. It was only $7. I was about to do it until I got about 5 more just like it.

Then… the great Twitter aha moment befell me. I connected with someone in my fitness industry, the tweets lead into an affiliate arrangement… I talk to my list, he talks to his list…. his list signs up on my list, I sell his products, we form a Connection!

So Twitter is indeed like a cocktail party, and perfect for me without the calories and cruel shoes. If you hang in there I think there is potential opportunity. At first I didn't really get the power of meeting other marketers in your industry… I saw them as competitors rather than connectors. My learning through Twitter has helped me think abundantly… I say, give it a go.

Sorry this reply is longer than your post Lou. You can only imagine the 140 character challenge for me.