Why I think a search on Twitter is better than using Google

Twitter is brilliant for talking to people and picking up new ideas. It’s the number one place where I get information related to my day job and my local blog. Twitter is all about following the right people.

But do you ever use Twitter as a search engine? The search function is brilliant and I find myself using it more and more. I’ve taken a few screen grabs to show how information picked up on a Twitter search is often more relevant than a google search. Welfare reform is a big part of my day job so I used that as a search term. I popped in Welfare Reform into google and these were the results.

A search for Welfare Reform on google

A search for Welfare Reform on google

The top couple of results take you to the Department for Work and Pensions website. Great for official information and the legislation. Lower down you can see a link to a story in the New Zealand Herald. Is that helpful? But what if you want to speak to people who are talking about welfare reform right now?

Now here is what came up when Welfare Reform was put in Twitter Search.

A Twitter Search for Welfare Reform

A Twitter Search for Welfare Reform

Let’s go through the six results.

1. An organisation in Brinnington is holding a welfare reform event. I could have replied and found out how it went and what information they shared. What questions were asked? Was it useful?

2. Ask Wiltshire shared an infographic on welfare reform. What a great way to understand more about the changes.

3. Wolverhampton Homes tweeted a link to info on their website. I could check and see how they were communicating the changes.

4. Leigh Robinson blogged a timeline to the changes. I could read a different voice and reply to him to find out more what his organisation is doing.

5. An organisation is holding an event in the high street. A quick reply could have given me more info about how it went, what went well, what didn’t go well. We could use this if we organised a local event in Torfaen.

6. An organisation is holding a webinar and inviting people to join. I could have sat at my desk and got involved or shared this with workmates.

Now that seems a lot more useful with opportunities to learn and network than the info you gain from a google search.

I also did a search on you tube and these were the results.

Welfare reform search on You Tube

Welfare reform search on You Tube

This was useful as well. I could have watched or shared online some brilliant videos that explain the changes in a visual way. Colleagues could spend a few minutes watching them to learn.

One thought on “Why I think a search on Twitter is better than using Google

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