How do I love thee, Twitter?... Let me count the ways

There are A LOT of people out there who don't see the value in Twitter - and honestly, I was one of them. "Isn't it just Facebook statuses?" It seems that way on the surface, but it is so. much. more.

It is unbelievable what the social media platform has brought to my life. It wasn't instantaneous. There was a "dip" to get through. But that's for a whole other blog post!

What have I physically gained from my time on Twitter? A Tassimo (complete with tons of free T-Discs); a couple soother Clippos from Clippopotamus; a book from Scholastic; and tickets to many theatre events. (And I feel as if I'm forgetting something...)

Oh, right. And I got to meet Sir Richard Branson! Are you freakin' kidding me? How awesome is that? A service called Klout (@klout on Twitter) ranks user by their "influence" and apparently, they consider me "influential" enough to have been offered a ticket to either San Francisco or Los Angeles on Virgin Airlines new direct flights from Toronto. (I am very uncomfortable with being considered "influential", by the way - hence the unnecessary quotation marks - and don't like to use it in reference to myself. I'm just someone who tweets, albeit a lot, and likes to engage, interact and share what I feel is worth sharing. I have been asked to promote things on Twitter and have turned the offers down because I didn't personally believe in the product.) So, you're thinking... "Ok.. what's this have to do with Richard Branson?" Well, I'll tell you. Along with Klout's complimentary ticket was the chance to go Virgin America's Toronto launch party. Um... let me think about that... OK!!

So, that's the "stuff" Twitter has brought to my life. But, really, that's nothing compared to what I've really gotten out of Twitter. I've met some amazing people. Some I've now met in person, many more than once, but many are only "virtual" friends. But "virtual" does not sum up the relationships. These are REAL relationships with REAL people. Awesomely, fantastic, amazing people. They bring me up when I'm down, they're there when I need help making a decision, they're there whenever I need them. How cool is that?! And when I launch my business this fall, I have a built in cheerleading section. Pretty cool.

So, what's the "ROI" from my time on Twitter? How do you measure a completely changed life?

Jacki Yovanoff (@JackiYo) is a mom to two awesome kids and a wife to one husband. She's a blogger and social media enthusiast who is launching her new business venture in the fall. Yup, she's an entrepreneur now. Look for Yo' Books - a completely fantastic digital book design company. And if you're at Blissdom Canada this October, come and say 'hi', too!