September 6th, 2012 by Gwynne Monahan
Clion Twitter Profile: Derek Rawlings
Meet Derek Rawlings, a member of our Sales team, a self-proclaimed nerd and Clio’s resident tea expert. When he’s not on the phone he’s busy brewing up a pot of vanilla earl grey or a green rice tea and forcing it on his coworkers. So far, they don’t seem to mind.
So, what’s your Twitter Handle?
Interesting. How did you pick that one?
When I was at university I used the word in an essay, and one of my colleagues was outraged the teacher didn’t correct when I got the essay back. So it stuck.
Ha. Nice. Do you have a tweeting philosophy?
Professionally or personally?
Both.
Professionally, I use Twitter primarily to see trends, get news about things that are interesting in my profession, which is the larger legal community. I also keep an eye on what our competitors are doing, and keep tabs the very large legal blogosphere.
Personally, it’s more about sharing information, keeping tabs on what my friends are into, coordinating events and following brands I’m loyal to. More of a social tool in that respect.
Do you tend to purchase from or do business with companies that use Twitter?
An active Twitter profile is definitely a tie breaker whenever I take a look at a company. If it uses social media proactively, I’m more interested in pursuing their product than companies who don’t. Companies active in social media are also providing, very often, content that is interesting to me.
Interesting. Good to know. So do you keep separate profiles?
No. I’m not proactive professionally, I don’t really engage. Twitter is more of a listen/gather information option for me so I only need one profile.
What’s your favorite thing about Twitter?
Social media fills the gaps in my life. When waiting in line, or have a spare moment, I can reach out and get caught up with what everyone’s been up to. Since it’s bite-sized, I’m not reading long form, just catching snippets.
And what’s your least favorite thing about Twitter?
The way it kills English sometimes.
Indeed. Is there a Twitter feature you think is missing?
It’s search functionality needs to be a lot better. That’s the big one, professionally. Personally, a lot of third party applications have filled the voids of what Twitter can, and cannot do, but even that’s under threat now.
What Twitter clients do you use?
Tweetcaster on my Android phone, and Hootsuite on my desktop.
And finally, why tea over coffee?
I’ve always preferred tea over coffee because of the variety of flavors, and tea has always been a more social drink for me.
