LinkedIn has been a game-changer when it comes to building relationships and your network. It is a great way to connect with new people and keep in touch with your network.

As amazing as LinkedIn is as a platform, it appears to be going through a cleanup. When I say clean up, I mean the posts we see are increasingly becoming more rehearsed and polished. Nearly every post is a story of winning through hardships. These are great for the occasional motivation boost but lose their value over time.

Also, maybe this is just me being petty but it’s getting kind of exhausting constantly reading about how successful everyone appears to be in their professional lives.

If you feel the same way I do, there’s another platform that has been working extremely well for me. It is………drumroll……..TWITTER!

I’ve been a twitter user since a long time but only recently did I start truly appreciating how amazing the platform really is.

Here are some of the reasons I find Twitter to be fantastic tool to follow industry news+build my network :

1)Genuineness of content

Due to the informal(ish) nature of Twitter, I find that the content being written and shared is much better to read. There’s lots of insights to be found, all produced with a sense of humour! People are more vulnerable and open, making Twitter my favourite social media platform.

2)Way better engagement

When you reply to something shared on Twitter, it feels more like a conversation than a comment does on LinkedIn. I love that I can engage with a peer as well as a CEO of a billion dollar startup at the same level.

I’ve made new friends through Twitter in different industries and different markets, exchanging business insights as well as dog memes. No other platform allows this flexibility and I love it!

3)To the point

The 280 character limit is my favourite feature. It has time and time again proven less is more. The most impactful stuff I’ve read is less than 280 characters. As they say, if it can’t be expressed in more than 3 sentences, it’s not worth saying.

Contrast this to the annoying format

content posters have been using

on LinkedIn to drive engagement

and annoy users just so that

they can get more clicks and views

on their posts

These reasons make Twitter stand out for me as an amazing tool and make it a must have!

If you’re already on twitter, let’s connect! @RoyShomik

Shomik Roy is a marketing and sales professional working in Toronto’s thriving startup ecosystem and an MBA graduate from the Schulich School of Business.