Laura Fitton

Prominent "Micro-Blogger" and Social Media Consultant

SNAPSHOT BIO

Called by some Twitter's original Cinderella story and the Queen of Twitter, Laura "@Pistachio" Fitton is credited with explaining Twitter's value to Guy Kawasaki and dozens of other tech leaders. She has been speaking professionally about the business use of Twitter since October 2007, and by popular demand launched Pistachio Consulting, the first Twitter for Business consultancy, in September 2008. In 2009, Laura founded oneforty.com (@oneforty) to help people understand Twitter and the exploding ecosystem of applications and services built on it. Called “the app store for Twitter” by TechCrunch, oneforty is the place to find, rate, collect and share the best ways to use Twitter. In 2011, oneforty.com was acquired by Hubspot, a leading social media marketing firm, where Laura has taken on the role of Inbound Marketing Evangelist. She is also the co-author of Twitter for Dummies (@dummies).

She's lectured on the topic at Harvard Business School, for Cornell's Entrepreneurs' Network (she is an alum) and at numerous conferences and other universities. Consulting clients include Ford and Johnson & Johnson and she's been quoted in more than 50 national publications including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Fortune, Newsweek, and BusinessWeek.

Even closer to her heart, Laura believes that everyone can benefit - dramatically - from what Twitter has to offer, and shares her own 'isolated mom to sought-after author' story as an example of its power to overcome isolation. The people you meet on Twitter can remove obstacles that hold us back in our everyday lives. In December 2008 she showed how Twitter can bring thousands together to achieve big change with very small donations, building five wells in the developing world with her @WellWishes holiday wish campaign for Charity:Water.

Laura is a magna cum laude graduate of Cornell University's eclectic College Scholar program. In "past lives" she studied science writing with Carl Sagan, rock climbed, sailed on a schooner, raised a niece, ran a hobby farm, traveled and lived abroad.

You can follow her adventures and mishaps on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/pistachio, or learn more about how to be a part of the next @WellWishes at http://twitter.com/wellwishes.

A Closer Look at Laura

FOCUS AREAS
What's on Laura's current research agenda?

Twitter for Business
Enterprise 2.0 Microsharing as a Collaboration Tool
Twitter and Microsharing for Nonprofits
Social Media
Social Media for Social Change
Citizen Journalism

ENGAGEMENTS
How have other organizations utilized Laura's expertise, and what's ahead on her schedule?

Laura has consulted with such corporations as Johnson & Johnson, Ford Motor Company, NewsGator, Margaret Roach Inc., PeopleBrowsr.com.

Laura has presented at such conferences as Defrag, BlogHer, Webcom-Montreal, ICA.

Laura will be teaching a guest lecture on Twitter & Microsharing for Business at HBS Spring 2009.

SPHERE OF INFLUENCE
Who shapes Laura's thinking and inspires her work?

JP Rangaswami, Andrew McAfee, Clay Shirky, Doc Searls, David Weinberger, Ethan Zuckerman, Tim O'Reilly, Kathy Sierra, Stowe Boyd, TED Talks, Business Innovation Forum, and Tony Hsieh of Zappos.com

RECOMMENDED READING
What's on Laura's must-read list?

Bowling Alone, Robert Putnam

Predictably Irrational, Dan Ariely

Groundswell, Charlene Li

Tipping Point, Malcom Gladwell

MIND FUEL
Which blogs, web sites, and industry events does Laura tap into to feed her mind and fuel her creativity?

In addition to following the brilliant people on Twitter, Laura has a Top 10 list of blogs she follows.

See her Top 10 list here.

Laura also looks to TEDTalks for inspiration.

OUTREACH
What are Laura's pressing questions, and on which topics does she seek your feedback?

Can companies look beyond tactical approaches to social networks and understand how to incorporate the opportunities they pose throughout the organization?

How will greater mutual accountability and interconnection via mobile recording devices and social networks affect public norms of behavior?