To Tweet or not to Tweet ...

I’m sure that by now most of you have heard about Twitter. Politicians are twittering and so are film and television stars. Even newscasters on television are saying things like “follow me on Twitter.”

For those who are still clueless, Twitter is a fast form of micro-blogging. You quickly sign up at Twitter.com and you can send out teeny-tiny messages — “tweets” — to all those who are “following” you.

In return, you receive messages from people you are following. You can follow famous people, business associates, friends, and family.

You can be a Twitterer from your phone or your computer. I have limited text messages on my phone, so I just use my computer.

I’m a newbie at Twitter, but already I like it. It’s much less tedious than following someone’s blog or blogging myself. Time is so limited.

“Tweeting” has many of the advantages of blogging in that it sheds some light into the twitterer’s real personal thoughts and ideas. You do begin to feel like you know the people you are following.

Twittering is also a great way to get a message out to zillions of folks. News is often relayed very quickly through twittering. Someone on the floor of congress sends out a “tweet” and you’re one of the first to know. Amazing.

When you get to the point that you have a lot of people you are following, don’t try to keep up with all the messages. Just tune in now and then as time permits. Otherwise you’ll go crazy.

For commercial purposes, I believe most folks are going to be resistant to companies that try to use Twitter to blast out sales notices. But maybe not. I do think customers might be open to very special notices only for Twitterers. Time will tell.

Most likely there will be an advantage to using Twitter as a networking tool. Useful information can be broadcast quickly. Or you can quickly ask your “followers” a survey question to assist you in making a strategic decision.

Twitter is one tool I recommend giving a try. It’s pretty easy and, at the worst, you’ll have a bit of fun.

TIP OF THE WEEK: Sign up for a free account at Twitter.com and follow me, Twitter.com/Katherine Andes. I’ll follow you.