5 Real-World Lessons That You Can Learn From Twitter

Twitter is an online microblogging and social networking service. It enables users to send and read text messages of up to 280 characters. These messages are known as ‘tweets’ that were previously restricted to 140 characters, but the limit has now increased. Twitter has rapidly gained global popularity and is often the most significant source of breaking news.

Twitter has more than 250M users and is used by for various purposes – to voice opinions on various issues, to describe feelings or experiences to friends, for business promotions, and even for research.

Here are five real-world lessons that you can learn from Twitter:

1. Motivate and Inspire

Twitter teaches you to motivate and inspire. For example, several charity organizations have twitter feeds that show the work that their organization is doing and the impact it has had on the lives of the people it has benefitted. Examples include the Make-A-Wish Foundation and Charity Water. These organizations share powerful stories that make an impact on their followers.

The Make-A-Wish Foundation is a non-profit organization that arranges for children with terminal or critical illnesses to experience their hearts’ desire. Their Twitter feed shows the happiness that they bring to these children, thus inspiring and motivating you to follow in their footsteps.

Charity Water is a non-profit organization that provides safe drinking water to those who do not have access to clean water in various countries. Their inspirational Twitter feed shows the change they have brought into lives by providing potable water.

2. Be Kind and Helpful

Twitter teaches you to be kind and helpful to fellow human beings. On Twitter, kindness is expressed through retweets and sharing. Examples include Code.org and the recent Kerala Flood Relief Twitter Handle.

Code.org is a non-profit organization that encourages everyone to study computer science. Their Twitter feed shows a video that offers gratitude to all their contributors and shares content from other people to show how technology and coding improve our lives. The organization is focused on making computer science accessible to everyone and is working to increase participation by women.

The Kerala Flood Relief handle and several similar Twitter accounts were created to help the victims of the recent Kerala Floods. The tweets showed real situations of families stranded in remote areas that need rescuing. Thousands of followers came together to donate money, food, clothing, and medicines. Numerous people also volunteered to participate in rescue efforts and also help clean the flood-affected houses once the water receded. These stories inspire you to be compassionate and helpful to fellow humans.

3. Use Influence to do Good

Most powerful online influencers use their influence for the greater good. They tweet information on causes that require support and make people aware of certain issues. For example, various celebrities, politicians, sportspersons, and technology and business heads that are on Twitter use their influence to provide awareness about social and political issues, technological advancements, travel, health, and much more.

One example is The Frugal Traveler, which has a substantial following on Twitter and uses the platform to share tips on traveling for those with a shoestring budget. These stories teach you to use your influence for social good. Even if you are not a big influencer, you can still do your part to help and support others.

4. Learning Never Ends

Twitter can be used as a powerful educational tool to disseminate knowledge. You can gain a lot of experience from Twitter, and it helps you realize that you should never stop learning new things.

An example is HubSpot, whose Twitter feed contains valuable insights and useful tips. It teaches marketers how to use strategies to grow their businesses continually. Another example is when teachers use Twitter to inspire their students to learn. Numerous teachers use their Twitter accounts to facilitate research discussions and to coordinate assignments. They also use humorous and intriguing Tweets to keep students engaged.

5. Express Yourself Fearlessly

Twitter teaches you to express yourself fearlessly. No matter what you tweet, there will always be people who agree or disagree with you. The top influencers on Twitter are not afraid to express their opinion and do not let negative tweets or bullies affect them. You can carry this knowledge over to your personal life and follow the same philosophy. You will achieve greater success in life if you express yourself without fear of criticism.

Thus, you can see that the ‘Twitterverse’ is much like the real world and that you can learn several valuable real-world lessons.