(1) WHY USE TWITTER?

Introduction

Twitter is a free broadcasting service which is growing rapidly into a ubiquitous form of communication.

It is an example of a “micro-blogging” “social networking” system where you can link to other people to “follow” their short “update” announcements. These are called “tweets”.

Tweets can include links to blogs, web pages, photos, videos, music and any of the other social networking systems such as MySpace, FaceBook, Plaxo and LinkedIn.

And because tweets are no longer than SMS messages, tweets can be sent and seen from PCs, mobile phones and any other mobile or internet-enabled devices.

For example this tweet from www.twitter.com/drivingbusiness includes a useful saying, a web link for further detail and a hash-tagged search term #kpis:

drivingbusiness #B0009 "What gets measured gets done." www.camwells.co.uk/kpis #kpis

What does Twitter say about using Twitter?

Twitter’s web site suggests “Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?”

This is the basis for tweets made by comedy stars such as Stephen Fry and Jimmy Carr. They make several tweets every day of what they are doing or thinking.

But why would you want to use it, for business or personal reasons?

"What are you doing?” is just the tip of the iceberg. Rather like having a CB radio transmitter/receiver, Twitter is a simple broadcasting tool that also lets you and your business do two things in one place:

1. What do you want to tell people?
· Business news
· Special offers
· Tips on technical topics
· Etc etc, only limited by your imagination

2. Who do you want to listen to? You choose who you follow:
· News feeds
· Entertainment venues and entertainers
· Business topics
· Characters, friends and family
· Etc etc

There’s also a third use. Twitter also allows you search on specific topics, with or without the hash tags. Unlike Google and other search engines, searches show the latest tweet at the top. So it’s the latest thinking and news you see first.

In Conclusion

As Twitter allows you to broadcast, follow and search on business and personal topics, it’s a really useful and fun system.

But beware. There are lots of traps for the unwary, and Twitter doesn’t always work as you might expect!

This blog will cover some of the key points you need to know to use Twitter productively and safely. Next instalment will cover the advantages and issues with using multiple accounts.

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