The dynamic social media landscape continues to be one of the most popular aspects in the digital world. Each of these social platforms come in various shapes and sizes. They consist of different uses, different ways to express yourself and different types of interactions. From Facebook to Myspace to YouTube to Flickr to LinkedIn to Blogging, we have the ability to create a brand for ourselves in numerous ways. The tools these social medias provide allow you to construct an image you want to portrayed by. Privately or professional, these social media platforms are crucial in building interactions, building awareness, building trust and building your entity to be perceived and recognized as something of value.
The micro-blogging site called Twitter has become increasingly popular and the next powerhouse amongst the social media landscape. Twitter has an estimated 4.1 million visits to the site per month in the United States alone and is growing at a rapid pace. [In the process of setting up mine!]
Brands are utilizing Twitter to connect them to their target audiences in building trust and relationships. Celebrities are utilizing Twitter to interact with their fans and inform them of their status on a daily basis. News organizations are utilizing Twitter to keep readers informed of the latest headlines. Management of a coffee shop in Houston are utilizing Twitter by taking orders from customers via a message have doubled their clientele. The President of the United States and goverment officials are utilizng Twitter in delivering messages and speaking of issues to citizens. Transit authorities are utilizing Twitter in keeping riders informed of service disruptions and changes.
Crucial to Twitter's success is in it's simplicity. It is fairly easy to use and is notoriously addicting. Here is the basic breakdown of Twitter:
- Twitter is a free social-networking tool that keeps people connected with one another and with sources of information.
- Twitter users submit updates about whatever they're currently doing, and these updates cannot exceed 140 text-based characters.
- The term twittering describes the activity of updating a Twitter account. A tweet is an individual Twitter update. Twitterers are people who use the service.
- Instead of the term "friend" to refer to people who are connected with one another, Twitterers consist of "followers," by finding a person's username and selecting a "Follow" option. This alerts the person that you're following them and their messages, and they can also choose to follow you in return.
- Twitter works on mobile phones, with the 140-character limit allows messages to be sent and received via text messaging or on smart phone applications via iPhones or Blackberrys. Tweets can also be sent and received via email.
- Updates can be public as in follow-able by anyone, encouraging a chain of people to follow the same social circle. Users also have the choice to protect their updates, meaning they must grant permission for others to follow them.
- Each tweet that appears within your Twitter feed can be replied to using a shortcut arrow that appears beside the tweet. Responses to these tweets are called @Replies.
- For example: Mike tweets about loving the Borat movie, a follower of his can reply to this with a tweet of their own that says, "@Mike I loved the subway scene." These @Replies are visible by everyone, and must start with @ plus the username of whomever you're responding to.
The Twitter phenomenon will only continue to grow and it's future is bright. So now the question is, do you/will you Tweet?
