Twitter me this, twitter me that….

….who said Twitter was just for chat?

Ah, I’ve discovered a new pastime – twittering. I twitter to my tweeps, keeping them updated on the details of my life/business life. Let me tell you, it’s some experience.

What is Twitter?
From Wikipedia:
Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that allows users to send updates (otherwise known as tweets) which are text-based posts, ranging up to 140 characters long.

Who actually uses Twitter? (also from Wikipedia)
Enterprise use

* Businesses such as Cisco Systems, Whole Foods Market, Dell, Zappos.com, and Comcast use Twitter to provide updates to customers.
* The Los Angeles Fire Department put the technology to use during the October 2007 California wildfires.
* NASA used Twitter to break the news of discovery of what appeared to be water ice on Mars by the Phoenix Mars Lander.
* News outlets such as CNN and the BBC have also started using Twitter to disseminate breaking news or provide information feeds for sporting events.
* Several 2008 U.S. presidential campaigns use Twitter as a publicity mechanism, including that of Democratic Party nominee Barack Obama.[9]. The Nader/Gonzalez campaign uses Twitter and Google Maps to show real-time updates of their ballot access teams across the country.
* The University of Texas at San Antonio College of Engineering is using Twitter to relay information to students.

The point seems to be that Twitter is good for your business. But before you jump on and start Twittering your life away, here are some tips for using Twitter for your biz. (By no means is this a complete list.)

5 Tips for Using Twitter for Business
1. Use Twitter to announce a new blog post, a new article or a press release
2. Brand yourself – Post tips or tidbits of information that will brand you as an expert in your field
3. Network – select and follow people that you think might be interested in your product or service or find like minded people with which to collaborate
4. Post links to interesting websites, articles or podcasts
5. Post time sensitive promotions such as one day sales, or contests

Note: It helps if you respond to other’s tweets once in a while. Twitter, is a two-way street – if you are constantly just posting information and not responding to other’s postings, that makes it difficult to form “soft” relationships via Twitter.

These are just a few ways that I, as a newbie, have used Twitter. I’m sure you can think of a few more!