The question posed by Twitter, “What are you doing?” has become almost as popular as AOL’s “You’ve got mail.” So much so that it has even caught the eye of offline news mediums such as USA Today, CNN, and ABC. And for those who think Twitter is just a place for computer or Internet geeks, rest assured it’s nothing of the sort.

In some ways, Twitter is like other social networking sites in that it’s a way to interact with like-minded individuals. Whether one is a stay at home mom who craves adult conversation, an at home worker who misses the water cooler chit-chat from past jobs, or a business owner who wants to reach more of their target market, this form of social media fills a need. It makes it easier for people to connect with others in a way they might not have previously been able to.

I follow it on my IPhone at work, of course, I can’t watch it all day, but I do take a look ever so often. My daughter plays college volleyball and Tweets about what’s going on with the team and herself throughout the week. I like to see what she has to say. In addition to watching what’s going on in the internet marketing world, I also follow my political representatives to see what they are currently working on in Austin (I’m in Texas) and Washington D.C..

The fact Twitter is easily accessible and even simpler to navigate makes it a favorite as well. Anyone can create a Twitter account of their own with nothing more than a user name and a password. Once that’s done, it’s easy to customize your profile and begin following other tweeps, as those who use Twitter affectionately call one another. To follow what another person is doing, just visit their page and click the follow button. You’ve now been added as a follower and when you log-in to your account you will see their messages on your screen or timeline as it’s called.

If you want to use Twitter when you’re not at home or if you don’t have access to your computer like I do with my IPhone, it’s no problem. Inside your account you can choose whether to have messages sent via cell phone or instant messenger programs. Just browse to your settings and choose the devices tab and in a few steps you’re good to go. This feature makes it possible to tweet on the go. This is perfect for those who travel frequently or while out and about come across something interesting or amusing that they’d like to share with their followers.

Twitter’s arrival has also led to the creation of different platforms and applications to make it even easier to use. Popular applications include, Twitter Fox, Twhirl, TweetDeck, and TweetMyBlog. Twitter Fox and Twhirl give users who prefer the instant messaging look and feel a way to use Twitter in somewhat the same manner. Twitter Fox is an extension for the Firefox browser and Twhirl is a desktop application.

TweetMyBlog is a way to automatically post updates from a user’s blog to Twitter. In order to use it you need a Twitter account and an RSS feed from your blog. It will automatically post a tweet using your account when your blog is updated.

Tweet Deck is another desktop application that allows for more organization of updates. Instead of posting all tweets one right after the other, it allows the user to organize tweets into separate columns within the application. For those who have customers and friends on Twitter this is a great feature as the different categories can separated into separate columns.

If you’re interested in marketing your business on the internet, you will serve yourself well to try Twitter. Most every business industry now has tweeps that Twitter, follow some, tweet some yourself, and before long you will have your own following and so will your business.

Feel free to follow me at @RebaCollins.

Until next time…

Reba

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