I’ll have to admit, upon initially diving into the social media site, Twitter, (and less than a year ago), I couldn’t conceive of how connected our world, (and I do mean world), had become. The wide array of topics and the number of specialized experts wowed me, and continue to do so, on a daily basis.
What has been a most enjoyable experience, is the ability to quickly gain and share information, and have it move through a pool of connections, in almost lightening round fashion. While tweeting one evening, with several interior designer friends, (about what we thought consumers would want to know about interior design and specific topics), a good friend to several of us, Leslie Carothers - @tkpleslie, suggested having a scheduled Twitter event, or rather, a Design Chat. I was honored that she nudged me towards hosting the first one.
What’s the purpose for arranging this tweeting of tips? First, we, the interior designers, aren’t just going to begin randomly spouting out ideas in effort to promote our businesses or services. We are really interested in engaging with you, the consumer, by finding out what you want to know. How about that? Free design advice, based on your needs. Can you believe it? We really want to hear your questions so we can provide better and more pertinent information. We’ll have interior design experts who are well versed in everything from: eco friendly-design, color science, kitchen & bath design, remodeling, new home construction, universal design, furniture & product design, aging-in-place, organization, space planning, home accents, permanent finishes, to window treatment experts, and the list goes on. What a unique opportunity to share this experience with the design trade and your friends!
While pulling this off might seem complicated, it’s actually quite simple. In Twitter, there is a little tool we refer to as a hashtag. There is a # sign in front of a phrase or word which makes it easier for readers to track conversations, topics, communities and other events. In order for consumers and designers to be able to follow our timeline, we created the hashtag, #IDzinechat. Each day, we’ll be promoting this event, in order to reach a wide audience. The design chat date and time will continue to be announced, so everyone, both designers and consumers, can plan to be on Twitter, at the same time. About thirty minutes before the magic hour, I’ll be tweeting for designers to get ready to start answering questions. At 8pm, it will be announced the event has begun. (A little tip for all – use #IDzinechat in each of your tweets. Everyone can follow the questions and answers, more readily. We may miss you if you don’t use this.)
So – keep watching for #IDzinechat. I’m @WandaSHorton on Twitter. Interior Designers – come join me. Consumers – come share with us. We hope to see you there! Thursday, February 25th at 8pm, EST.
Tweetfully yours! Wanda
Please note, the occurrence or promotion of this event provides for no financial compensation for any of the participants.
