davis_square | Twitter Do’s and Don’ts: Request for Submissions (Reply)

Greetings, one and all. I’m hoping the DSLJ community can offer me a little help and advice. In my ongoing job search, the interview phrase used most frequently by prospective employers is “overqualified” – and we all know what that means. But the second most common phrase is “social media” – as in “What do you think of social media as a tool for message delivery for our [public agency, academic institution, business]?”

Now, thanks to what turned out to be an entertaining if rocky experience here on LiveJournal, I take a back seat to no one on the use of interactive media to establish a useful communications channel. Facebook and LinkedIn hold no mystery for me, either (though there's always more to learn). Ah, but Twitter is something else again: It seems like a great way to point people to more extensive or nuanced info about news, events or ideas, but much of what I see on Twitter (other than personal status reports) tends to be generic or trivial – and sometimes either downright embarrassing or self-damaging. So, for those of you who use Twitter regularly, here are my questions:

What do you recommend in the way of Twitter rules, usage and best practices?
What are your favorite examples of the best uses of Twitter as an effective communications tool?

All comments gratefully received.

LATE UPDATE: Many thanks to all for what has been, on the whole, a very helpful set of responses – especially from those of you who provided examples of specific Tweeters (Twitterers?) that, in your view, get it right or wrong. It should come as no surprise that your assistance was the subject of my first tweet. G'night, everybody.