A Twitter Convert: Thanks to Keanu Reeves

I signed up for our new media class with a little bit of apprehension. Yes, I had a Facebook account, which I used with close friends and coworkers. And, of course, LinkedIn was a great tool I have used for years to connect with contacts on a professional level.

Create a blog? Never!
Twitter? Hm.

Honestly, I really wasn’t sure what to do with a thing called Twitter. Very, very few friends of mine Tweet, ditto for professionals in my circle. Although I work in marketing, it is in the professional services industry (legal). By its very nature, law firm marketing leans toward conservative measures. There are issues and concerns over adopting new media, as there are many industry-imposed ethics standards on how attorneys or firms can outreach to prospective clients, most of which vary from state to state. In many cases, the rules governing law firm marketing simply need to catch up with the trends in social media.

As a result, poor Twitter didn’t garner much of my interest or attention.

However, this month I was fortunate to be blessed by divine Twitter intervention to expand my experience.

Living in Buffalo, NY, life is great, but rather routine. It’s an older “rust belt” industrial city, and sadly, most of the industry has dried up. Other than snow, not a lot of excitement happens here. However, this November and December, it was announced that parts of a new movie would be filmed here. “Henry’s Crime“, starring Keanu Reeves (famous for films such as “Speed” and “The Matrix” series) was to be filmed downtown, directly outside my office building! Filming took place this week December 16 and 17th. On a whim, on Friday, December 11th, I posted this “tweet“:

Keanu Reeves films in Buffalo next week, directly outside my office. Stay tuned for updates.

Little did I know that I had opened up a Twitter flood gate with a simple post. Contacts started following me from across the globe. Links were shared, all kinds of links. YouTube videos, photos on TwitPics or Flickr and news clips, just to name a few. I was really surprised to see firsthand how a group of users could simultaneously engage in conversations all at the same time. What an amazing way to link ideas, break stories or find information about topics you might not think about from someone you would never otherwise meet. From conversation with fans of Keanu Reeves, I also received a lead on a product I was researching for business purposes. To me, most interesting of all was the fact that my Flickr site gained nearly 1,400 viewings within days. Amazing.

Although the obstacles in my own industry still exist, and there is a “slight” chance that attorneys may not get the same level of fan following as an international celebrity, there is a lesson here. Twitter may be one of the ultimate connection tool for rapid, real-time discussion. Through an active dialogue, contacts can share information between them selves. As a marketer, it is only logicical to get on board, and become engaged.

Thanks to Keanu, I have learned that the possibilities of Twitter are endless. If only I could thank him in person.