What Is This Twitter You Speak Of?
So what is Twitter and how can it be of benefit to you or your business? Twitter is a free online micro-blogging application which gives you the ability to send out fleeting messages (up to 140 characters) called â??tweetsâ? to people who are following you on Twitter. You can send tweets either through your computer or by using your cell phone via a text message. These tweets/messages can be about anything you want and they can include links, as well. Making Twitter even more useful is the ability to send a direct message to a name you are following (this is done by entering @username at the beginning of your message) or replying to a nameâ??s peep with your own. You would be surprised how common it is to comeback to a nameâ??s message then to have a name who is either following you or the person you sent the comeback to comeback to your initial message and so on.
People can follow you and your tweets by first signing-up for their own free Twitter account at the Twitter site then count you to their list of people they are following. Once you have produced your account, you can either check your Twitter page (your own personal page which appears after you sign-in at the Twitter home page) for any of your friendâ??s new messages or you can send out your own. But it is much simpler, in my opinion, to use one of the many online or desktop applications which give you the ability to do all of this and more.
Twitter As A Communication Tool
Twitter is a quick and simple way to communicate with family, acquaintances, business associates, and also within a company setting. Being an online service, Twitter is available to anyone with online access. All you have to do is login to your account through any number of third-party applications urban for Twitter or through the Twitter site and you are ready to go. Within a company setting, employees could have a Twitter account produced for them with the option to have their messages protected. This means only people they (or you or the person in charge of making the Twitter financial statement) approve will be able to send and receive messages from them. The same thing could be done using an instant message program but with Twitter, there would be no software to install and it would be accessible from somewhere with an online connection. Additionally, the person who is in charge of the Twitter financial statement will have the power to control who is and who isnâ??t part of this confidential Twitter network.
Even though there are tons of online communication applications available, Twitter can also be used as a way for people who are collaborating on a project to stay in touch with one a further regardless of where they are. And depending on which third-party application they are using to Twitter with, these conversations can be saved for future allusion. There are even some third-party apps which you can use to send files up to 10MB to anyone you are following as long as they are using the same application, that is. Still, a handy feature to have and one which may become a feature of Twitter if thereâ??s a huge enough demand for it.
Marketing With Twitter
Here in lies the fantastic thing about Twitter from a business perspective: the marketing potential it offers users. Sure, it is fantastic to send messages and chat using Twitter, but it can also be a fantastic marketing tool if used correctly. Have some breaking news you want to get out quickly? Send it out as a Peep. Made an vital update to your blog or web site? Let people know about it instantly with a Peep. Want to promote your project, book, movie, whatever by giving away a free download or preview? Send out a Peep with a URL to the free download. Only want to market a touch to certain individuals you are following? Simply penetrate their username preceded by the â??@â? and you are set.
A further simple marketing tool available with Twitter is the ability to befriend people who are following a name you by now follow. While this practice could backfire on you if you start to add everyone you find following a name you are following, be picky and just befriend those who either share similar tastes that you do or work in the same field as you or by now follow many of the same people you do. Otherwise, you could come off as a spammer which will be a hard image to shake.
Twitter Now And Beyond
Twitter represents a fundamental exchange in the way people communicate online. There have permanently been instant messengers and they have their place and purpose but they donâ??t place forward the one thing which sets Twitter apart and that is the ability to instantly communicate with either a couple of people or potentially thousands without the need for proprietary software. No need to download this piece of software in order to communicate with this person or that organization.
Much like how blogging has become a fix of todayâ??s society, Twitter and â??twitteringâ? is on the same path to becoming deep-seated in todayâ??s culture despite only being around for less than two years. So simple in its execution, powerful in the marketing opportunities it offers, and ease of use, Twitter will be one of the top web technologies to gain worldwide prominence in 2008.