Twitter has become one of the top social media methods of communication. Tens of millions of people Twitter. Announcements are made. Meetings arranged. Contacts are found. Here is how to make the most of Twitter.
The U.S. State Department asked Twitter to delay network upgrades to assist the Iranian protesters. Twitter is their only way to communicate from behind the wall of silence the mullahs have erected.
CNN uses Twitter to track fast moving stories. Tea Party organizers use Twitter to spread their protest message. Kodak uses Twitter to promote its new products.
Here's how to make the most of Twitter.
In the years since it was launched, Twitter has become much more than a status update app. It is a marketing tool, a news source, a scheduling tool, a reputation monitor, and a way to meet people from all over the world.
Twitter is a free service that allows you to send and receive messages of 140 characters or less. You build a network of people that you follow and people choose to follow you. On its website, Twitter shows you the "tweets" or messages from the people that you follow and the messages you send.
Twitter has an open API, which allows other applications to use Twitter as a base for a variety of other uses. There are Twitter apps for your Blackberry or IPhone. There are Twitter apps for your desktop. There are apps that will post tweets to your blog or your Facebook site.
Twitter is a news source in a way that no other media can compete with. A plane crashes and a man from the plane sends a tweet out about the crash. There's an earthquake in California and dozens of people reports what they felt or saw. Terrorists attack in Mumbai, India, and people are sending tweets from the scene.
CNN is not alone among news organizations when it monitors Twitter during breaking news. Tweets are often quoted on the air by CNN anchors.
Twitter is also a great marketing tool. As a user, you are able to create a profile that can illustrate your interests and business. You can also design a background for your profile that advertises your business.
More than that, though, is the social network you build by interacting with others on Twitter. People will follow you because they are interested in what you say or share your interests. Twitter is word of mouth marketing that can show that word to millions in the blink of an eye.
Businesses such as Kodak and Comcast have employees charged with following Twitter. Search apps created to use the Twitter API allow a business to see every mention of their company on the site. This allows the business to address an issue on Twitter, or to thank a customer, and those efforts are visible to the tens of millions who use Twitter. A company's reputation matters, and Twitter is a great way to monitor it and to take steps to improve it.
Twitter has become a scheduling tool for many. It allows you to connect with others attending the same conference to plan meetings or meals together.
With Twitter, whether you are a company or an individual, you are building a network of people that you are consistently and constantly in touch with. It allows you to share ideas, links to blogs or other websites, and to have discussions. It is a first rate communications tool where the limits are those of your imagination.