There are thousands of articles and blog postings on “What is Twitter?” This is my humble take. I joined Twitter about three weeks ago and so far I can see why the networking service has become extremely popular. Twitter can be something different for every one. Marketers use it to sell a product or service and news companies use it to get information instantly out to Internet audiences. But anyone, from Ashton Kutsher to the girl next door, can use Twitter to let people know what they’re up to, where they are, and what they’re thinking. Twitter can be used to find like-minded people who share your interests and passions, or it can be used to get a different perspective on things by following people anywhere in the world.
Twitter is like your own personal news wire. You can use to communicate with many people at once or directly to one person. You can use it to promote yourself or a charitable cause. You can follow people you find interesting and others can follow you. You can use it to increase traffic to your website or blog, or to find a job. You can use Twitter to keep up to date with trends in your industry of expertise or learn from people who are already successful in the field you want to enter. Twitter, along with other social media, has the potential to revolutionize traditional media. Imagine news and information being created and sent out by millions of people just like us? Newspapers may not be the only traditional media going out of business.
Each Twitter update is called a Tweet and if you Tweet you are called a Twitterer. There’s lots of Twitter lingo out there and you’ll catch on along the way. One of my favorite Twitter terms is Twitterican.
If you are new to social networking sites then I would suggest getting started with Myspace of Facebook before moving on to Twitter, but of course the choice is yours. Twitter is the hottest networking site right now and it may be so for quite some time.
