I once heard the late writer Norman Mailer say that he would know the apocalypse was near, “When they play MUZAK during electrocutions.” While it might not be a similar sign, the news today that billionaire Warren Buffet now has a Twitter (News - Alert) account, certainly has set off a flurry on the Internet that might rival news of the coming of the end of days.
"Warren is in the house," Buffett said with his first tweet today. This set off an impressive flurry of re-tweets concerning America’s financial guru, who is commonly called the "Oracle (News - Alert) of Omaha."
Interested in that first and now second tweet? Well I hope you are sitting down. Here they are taken at roughly 4:00PM EDT. Note the pithiness, the promotion of his book and most importantly how many followers he already has. By the way, I am one of them.
Buffett made his first tweet during an interview with Fortune at the University of Nebraska Omaha. He joked with the reporter that, "Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks?"
What is no joke is that the new account, @WarrenBuffett, multiplied its followers at a pace faster than 1,000 a minute. And, just so you know that this was anticipated, he got a very fast reply from another famous, very wealthy person and card playing pal of Buffett’s - Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates (News - Alert). Gates, a longtime tweeter, tweeted back, "Welcome to Twitter @WarrenBuffett. First ever Twitter bridge tourney starts now. I bid 3 Hearts."
Give Buffett credit for understanding the power of social media for promotion. It certainly is one of the keys to his success. As a bridge player myself, I would love to be invited with a fourth of their choice to a sit down at a place of their choosing. Warren and Bill, I am ready when you are -- @berniebernstein.