Wednesday, April 6, 2011

The Power of the Internet. When one Tweet leads to another, great things can happen.

When people talk about the power of the Internet, it’s easy to get wrapped up in the technology and forget that it really is just an access tool.  A tool that enables one to reach vast numbers of people, but only as powerful as the character of those you reach.

You are reading this blog post, which has power in numbers. Some of you come by way of our Facebook page and even more of you follow us on Twitter.  Through tweets of 140 characters or less, the mundane can be passed on or the seriousness of someone’s passing can be shared.    While a constant IV drip of tweet updates like “I need to sneeze, no tissues” can be a waste, sometimes a tweet can lead to great things.

One of my Tweeps is @SportsCardNews and a recent tweet was a simple one ” Old school Giant Gaylord Perry signing autographs http://t.co/2RWThC” 

That’s Baseball Hall of Fame inductee in 1991, Cy Young award winner in both the American & National Leagues, 300+ game winner and notorious spitball pitcher Gaylord Perry, a player who’s auto I’ve been chasing. 

I tweeted @SportsCardNews “Is he charging for that? If not... I don't have him yet, sure would be nice... wink wink”

I got a reply back “let me see what I can do.”

Here is a result of that short exchange.


WOW!

I would have been happy with an auto on the back of a program.  To have a ball arrive on my doorstep was above and beyond.

So while it's amazing that someone could be in another state and casually put out some information that was pertinent to me, a prime example of the power of the Internet is that a short, timely exchange could lead to this.   But it’s not the technology that is the powerful element.   It’s the person on the receiving end.   The technology does not prompt a person to act, the spirit of the person does.

You can follow @SportsCardNews on Twitter and check out his blog at http://www.sportscardreport.info and, of course the other site he is associated with Sports Card Radio and the forum at http://www.sportscardradio.com  and http://www.sportscardradio.com/forum/

Many thanks.

No comments:

Post a Comment