If social media is looking for a slogan, search no further than a one-liner from the mouth of Guy Kawasaki, the managing director of Garage Technology Ventures, who claims, "nobodies are the new somebodies."
And nobody is proving that theory more right than the man behind Teecycle.org, Tim Cigelske.
We first wrote a story about Cigelske in the spring of 2009. He had just entered, and won, a $4,500 grant from PepsiCo for his environmentally innovative idea of recycling T-shirts.
The extra cash helps anyone starting a new business, but if you talk to Cigelske, his success is less dependent on dollars and more on ... Twitter.
According to Cigelske, "Teecyle would not exist without Twitter."
Case in point, on May 2, 2008 Cigelske did a simple search using the keyword "T-shirts" on Twitter, in hopes of finding a few common links in the industry. He stumbled upon @tcritic, a T-shirt only blog that highlights indie fashion and design. Before Cigelske could even hit send on a note to the writer, Tcritic had already written a blog about teecycle.org.
Within hours of the Tcritic blog posting, Cigelske's in-box began filling up with orders from as far away as London and Denmark.
And now Twitter has become the cornerstone of Cigelske's business.
Yes, he still uses sites like Facebook to push his product, but realizes that venue reaches mostly familiar faces in friends and family. Twitter, on the other hand, extends that reach.
"It literally opens your network up to the whole world," says Cigelske. "Anyone can follow you."
Social media also allows new businesses to take risks they might not otherwise.
When Cigelske first started teecycle.org, he had nothing more than an idea. "I started with no money. I didn't have venture capital. I didn't need it. All I did was start a free Web site and a Twitter account ... next thing I know, it's spreading everywhere."
Cigelske points to another Milwaukee business as just one more social media success story in AJ Bombers. The local burger joint uses Twitter as a focal point for getting the word out. The Water Street establishment even has a ticker-like marquee in the restaurant scrolling tweets as if they were the latest scores.
Cigelske can't help but be impressed how quickly they've garnered attention via 140 characters. "They've built up this community, this following, and the next thing you know they are on 'Food Wars' and can't keep up with their business anymore."
In Cigelske's praise, he hints at another hidden gem of social media--cross promoting. Sites like Twitter and Facebook are essentially free advertising. That means local businesses can help one another with the simple click of a button. Just one more way to get the word out, without feeling the proverbial pinch in the pocketbook.
Cigelske says, "People who really buy into what we are doing and believe in what we are doing partner with us."
A partnership that began with an idea and a tweet.
Trenni Kusnierek is a sports reporter and radio host who has worked for networks such as ABC, Big Ten, MLB, and NFL. She is currently on 540 ESPN in Milwaukee on both the D-List and Broad Side. Kusnierek is also freelance writing and reporting until January, when she will leave on a service trip to India.
A graduate of Marquette University, she holds a degree in Broadcast and Electronic Journalism. An avid marathon runner, Kusnierek qualified for the 2010 Boston Marathon by running a 3:37:02 at the Lakefront Marathon in Milwaukee.
