My kids occasionally watch a Nick cartoon TV program, “The Penguins Madagascar.” In one episode the penguins believe they have traveled to the moon only to find out at the end of the show that they only flew in a rocket to the top of an adjacent building and then back to their enclosure at the Central Park Zoo. When the penguins question one another about the failed mission, one replies, “I forgot to carry the two.”

Yesterday, I incorrectly tweeted that Four Seasons Hotels use Twitter effectively and Hyatt Hotels does not. I ‘follow’ both Four Seasons and Hyatt on Twitter. I receive numerous daily updates from the Four Seasons but none from what appears to be the official Hyatt profile. Best I have learned, Hyatt leaves it up to each property to set-up and maintain their own Twitter profile. Since I am staying at one of their properties this week (one of my favorite) I immediately began following the particular property on Twitter. There is a lot of useful information and specials posted.

Four Seasons has the same arrangement where each property sets-up a Twitter profile. In addition they uses their corporate profile of @Four_Seasons to share information about each property and tweet about the company in general.

It is a complicated decision. Does the ‘brand’ maintain the relationship with the customer or is it the individual properties? Or does some hybrid method work better? I patronize both companies but more often Hyatt for a variety of reasons. There are particular properties that I am especially fond of and will follow on Twitter. As a frequent guest I also wonder how I should keep undated with specials and events at properties that I may not follow. On the other hand, there are days when I feel like the I heard enough from the Four Seasons because none of the tweets peak my interest.

So I apologize to Hyatt for my incorrect tweet. I wonder who you follow on Twitter? Why? What makes them worth following? What is effective tweeting?