Do you ever read something that seems to haunt you?

I woke up in the middle of the night in cold sweats thinking about this one. I read a Seth Godin post over the weekend, and, as usual, his words struck a chord. This time, however, I could not just post a tweet and go on about my business. I was struck by this one line:

Employees and freelancers that produce more than they cost are worth hiring.

Too often, it seems, that we can hide behind rationalizations for what we do. We paint these pictures with huge self-congratulation, but at the end of the day, are we producing more than we are charging?

I have been talking about the use of Twitter in business lately. Being a lazy ass twitter user for a few years, I know there is power in the ridiculously short conversation system, but I just don’t know what it is. One of the best uses that I have seen is with Twinkle (an iPhone app). I am able to see tweets of those that are within a 50 mile radius.

Duct tape marketing offers this whitepaper for newbie business twitter users, which is totally worth the read.

And tonight, I ran across David Armano’s post on brand guidelines for Twitter, and I really like his use:

I’ve used Twitter as an extension of my “personal brand”. I share links, talk to people and in general be myself. In return, I’ve built relationships which transcend digital limitations and get insights into human behavior.

As iPhones change the paradigm and all cell phones move into the next generation, SMS sized blogging will become the mainstay, and as Doug has said, a restauranteer is going to have an employee that is just monitoring twitter to see customer feedback (in real time).

I tend to agree with David in that twitter allows me to be authentic and genuine in my feed. I can spew Faulkneresque stream of consciounce to all my follwers. Join me.