@YourDad is Now Following you on Twitter

A Story of How a 20-something Girl Got Her Much Older Dad on Twitter

Hah, no, my dad’s Twitter handle is not @YourDad, and if it was that would be a little creepy. But he’s there, tweeting away on his computer and his iPhone, and I’m the one that helped him get there. Actually, I had a lot of help from Kyle Lacy’s book, Twitter Marketing for Dummies, but if it weren’t for my pushing, @getrealsound would not exist. Of course, I don’t imply that my dad is a dummy, because the book is great for anyone.

It all started with an idea. My dad, Don Meehan, had plan for a business. He had a new invention and he wanted to show the world, but he didn’t know anything about using social media for business. After many conversations and arguments on how to go about releasing his idea to the masses, it all came down to Twitter.

Albeit a novel idea at the time, this frightened me.

I am sure you’ve seen it on Facebook now that everyone and their mother (quite literally) has joined the ranks of users all over the world, stalking their children and other family members. I’ve had several friends tell me that they’ve had to block their own parents on Facebook because of various reasons. Ironically, the funniest reason had to do with being overrun with Farmville requests, but that’s besides the point. My point is that to some, it might be a little creepy or cumbersome to have ones parental units commenting on relationship statuses and/or drunken photos. I can’t say that I disagree, because I honestly wouldn’t want my mom to see some photos I once had posted from my 21st birthday.

So my dad came to me and said, “Okay, what is this Twitter thing, and how do I get on it?” I admit, my heart sank a little at this. Twitter was my little corner of the internet to rant and rave about everything bothering me in the world. Did I really want my dad to see some of the things I posted? Of course then I realized that he was seeing my tweets anyway, because we are connected on LinkedIn. So I bit the bullet, and started down the long road of getting my dad on Twitter.

I set out on a quest using the great interwebs to find useful information that would help my dad market his business on Twitter. I found some useful articles, although many of them contradicted each other. I was coming to somewhat of a dead end. That is, until I remembered meeting Kyle at Blog Indiana 2010, and seeing his “Twitter Marketing for Dummies” book at the bookstore. The CFL above my head went off and I said to my dad, “You need to get this book.”

Before the book arrived, we came up with his Twitter handle, @getrealsound, which is a derivative of his website URL, http://www.getrealpersonalsound.com. We installed Twitter for iPhone on his phone and got his account all set up. At this point, I could tell that my dad was both excited and overwhelmed. Excited at the possibilities of using Twitter for marketing his product, and overwhelmed at the things he had to learn so he could do it. I don’t blame him, as I would probably feel the same way in his situation. Here he is, new to social media, about to embark on a journey that would hopefully take his business in the right direction. Why shouldn’t he feel excited and overwhelmed?

The day had come; a package from Amazon.com had arrived! Since I don’t live at home, my mom filled me in on how my dad had his head in that book for days, reading it cover to cover, taking extensive notes where he could. A small part of me couldn’t believe that my stubborn dad was actually doing it. The bigger part of me was proud. I don’t think many people can say that they’re proud of their parents for using and embracing today’s social media tools, but I can.

In the end, my dad made it onto Twitter with no problems. He’s got it connected to his website, set up on his iPhone, and I helped him set up TweetDeck on his computer so he can keep track of all his social networking accounts. He joins us all now at the dinner table, emailing and tweeting (from across the table), and messing and laughing with the “Talking Tom” application on his iPhone. My mom teases me, saying that we’ve created a monster.

I wouldn’t say that at all. I’ve merely helped a strong-willed small business owner break into the world of social media and networking to get the word out and market his product, with a little bit of humor and snark on the side.

That business owner just happens to be my dad. I see absolutely nothing wrong with that.

I would like to share a word of advice with people my age who are worried about their parents invading their space on Facebook and Twitter: embrace it. It’s 2011, and eventually, you will get that inevitable email letting you know that your mom, dad, grandma or aunt is now following you on Twitter. Instead of running away, be there for them in case they have questions.

I can safely say that it’s not as bad as you think it is.

——

Esther is an east-coast transplant to Indianapolis with a passion for photography, knitting and cooking. When she’s not doing any of that, she’ll be writing at her blog, IndyNikonGal, or on IndyGeek.net, and tweeting in her corner of the internet @indynikongal.