Twits and Twitter
by Gerald Trites

Twitter, that upstart microblogging service, that allows short messages of 140 characters, has been both praised and derided since its inception. Some say it is the new wave of internet based communications and others say it is a waste of time and we don't need to know when someone is going to brush their teeth.

There is no doubt that some people misuse twitter by posting every little irrelevant detail of their lives, just as some do with other social media like Facebook. However, Twitter is beginning to find its place in the eBusiness world, and it may be a permanent and useful place.

Twitter has just released a new book called Twitter 101, which outlines the main benefits of Twitter. One of them is for customer relations, and they recount some stories where Twitter has played a role in converting prospects to sales. Dell is one of the companies cited, and in fact Dell has been a leader in the use of Twitter. One of their interesting uses has been in the Investor Relations area, where Twitter is being used for such events as the announcement of quarterly earnings. It's not a prime vehicle for such news, but a useful adjunct.

Social media is becoming a staple for companies to communicate and interact with their stakeholders. While there will continue to be experimentation, as there was with the internet in the beginning, some very useful and perhaps profitable, applications are almost certain to emerge. You can download Twitter 101 by going to this site.