What’s Twitter? 5 Things Your Business Needs to Know

Twitter is a micro blogging service that consists of 140 character posts. You can think of it as SMS for the web.

It has grown into a near real-time messaging service ranging from the banal “just ate an egg McMuffin” to the useful, “Arrested” which freed James Karl Buck from an Egyptian jail cell. [See link at end of blog post]

Here are five things a business person needs to know about Twitter:

1. SEARCH - You can search Twitter for keywords related to your company or product. For example, if you were Dell Computer, you’d like to know about a groundswell of disatisfaction before it hits critical mass. [Example: searching for Dell + Laptop + Problem]
2. FOLLOW - You can “follow” individual Twitterers by clicking on their profile and then “Follow.”  Savvy geeks will also click on the RSS feed icon and add them to their newsreader.  Useful if someone is promoting or slamming your business.  Or if you just find something funny or interesting.
3. PROMOTE - you can promote your product, business, idea or meme by “tweeting” regularly.  But if you choose to do so, you are well advised to keep it interesting for the reader by offering something of interest and value.  For example: Twitter-only discounts.
4. RECRUIT - Peter Shankman of “Help a Reporter Out” uses Twitter to send out urgent requests matching reporters to qualified sources: National AM Show needs “perfectionist mom who is driving yr family crazy” [Click to subscribe to all "urgent help a reporter out" requests]
5. UNRELIABLE - Twitter.com has grown beyond what its infrastructure can support.  It’s also a free service and therefore goes up and down with such frustrating frequency there are actual websites like “Is Twitter Down?“.  This is not to be confused with “Is It Down Or Is It Just Me” which is useful in figuring out if the gods of technology are picking on just you or everyone.

Lastly, a word about privacy.  Once you tweet it’s out there forever.  You are a part of the public timeline.  So think twice about that New Year’s Eve party twitter.  Yes, you can protect your feed and only allow approved members to follow you.  But what’s the point?  If you’ve got something to say then say it loudly.

Link : Twitter Sign Up Page

Link : CNN Story Student ‘Twitters’ his way out of Egyptian jail

Link : Subscribe to Mark’s Twitter feed (mostly banal)