“Retweeting” isn’t new to Twitter. Users have been prefacing tweets with “RT” for a while now, indicating that they are broadcasting someone else’s 140-character-or-less sentiment. Part of the power of this practice is in the commentary that a Twitter user includes along with the retweet. The new retweet feature in Twitter makes it more efficient to RT, but deprives you of the chance to add some color.

Traditionally, a Twitter user would retweet someone else’s comment by simply copying and pasting it into the tweet field on Twitter.com (the new RT feature is only available on the website) after manually entering “RT @[username].” Then, you could add your own thoughts ahead of the RT.

Example: Good info on IT landscape for 2010 RT @entermarketing: New blog post: Venture capital trends give an inside look at the IT year to come http://bit.ly/57RlaO
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Why is this important? Well, it lets you tell your followers why something you’re retweeting is important, interesting or valuable. Without your comments, your followers need to rely on what they think of you and the original user’s comments to decide whether to click the link. If you are trying to co-market with another Twitter user or attract people to your Twitter-stream by retweeting high-value information, you need to be able to add your thoughts when retweeting.

The new retweet feature is more efficient but costs you your voice. With the click of a button, you can retweet. Since the RT is shown through an on-screen icon, you’re able to recapture up to 20 characters, depending on the length of the username you are retweeting (the need for “RT @[username]” is obviated). But, you’re stuck with your Twitter-source’s words only.

So, if you’re using Twitter aggressively as part of your marketing efforts, it might make more sense to retweet using the old, manual approach rather than the new feature. Or, it could be time for you to move over to a tool like HootSuite, which can automate much of your twitter use.

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