Do you Twitter?

I've learned to Twitter, and am having a ball with it. Twitter is a free social network-style service founded in 2006 in San Francisco, California. It allows us Twitterers to micro-blog - to send and to read other users' tweets (that's the 140 character updates we Twitterers post).

You sign up for free - then the goal is to have other Twitterers "follow" you. Many of us use Twitter for letting others know about our blogs, our websites, our politics - you can say whatever you want to say, as long as it's under 140 characters. If you have more to say, just post the first sentence and then start another!

Although I can usually manage to complete a tweet in under 140 characters, I do sometimes run through several tweets before I get everything said. I've used Twitter to refer my followers to my Red Moon Antiques website at Ruby Lane, but just as easily I might Twitter about what I'm having for dinner.

Major companies use Twitter to promote their products and services, including Whole Foods Markets and Jet Blue. Even NASA uses Twitter! Most recently, Barack Obama used Twitter to get out the vote, and had more than 120,000 followers.

It's amazing to see the responses from other Twitterers. Many of them have posted about tweets I've posted, and from them I've learned about some really helpful websites. It's an interesting community of people - professionals, politicians, charity volunteers, small business people, college kids, just about anyone from just about every walk in life.

Twitter has caught on in a big way - you can tweet from your computer, but you can also tweet from your phone. Facebook has an application for Twitter, which opens a huge number of doors - many of my Twitter followers found me through Fb. I also have Twitter on this blog - you'll see it in my right sidebar.

Although currently Twitter itself doesn't offer advertising, you can stilladvertise on Twitter, or you can get paid for posting tweets on Twitter, both through Magpie. You can also advertise through TwittAd, which allows for website promotion and product placement.

Twitter is definitely a place to try your own style innovative marketing, whether for your business or your personal blog. Take a look at my own Twitter, and you'll see how much fun it can be!