Twitter is contagious. Twitter has become a phenomenon. Twitter is used, not only by individuals but by CNN, Fox NEWS, and Barack Obama. Even still, Twitter is in its infancy.

Recently I had a conversation with someone and did my best to explain what Twitter is. I thought I was clear in my explanation, but apparently I was unable to really explain it properly.

Then, I found this amazing video called “Twitter in Plain English”. I was impressed by the simplicity and clarity of the video (and ended up purchasing a site license as a result.)

Twitter in Plain English is a video that explains what Twitter is, how it works and what you can use it for. The video is 2 minutes, 10 seconds. Then, after you watch it, please be sure to post your comments/thoughts - and please let me know if it helped to gain clarity as to what Twitter is all about!

Don’t forget, please post your comments.  Was this video helpful?  Would you like to see more videos posted on my blog?  What topics would you like to learn more about?  Thanks for visiting…

I just found this great article called “15 Innovative Uses for Twitter (That You Probably Haven’t Thought Of) on SiteProNews.com, written by Kalena Jordon.  Great info that I wanted to share with you.  Here goes:

“I recently saw this comment on a blog: “I’ve been tweeting but… from what I’ve seen in the last couple of weeks, it’s either a ‘look at me’ or a ‘look at this’ arena.”

Sure Twitter is a great communication channel and as such, you do find a lot of self-promotion and name dropping. But there is so much more to Twitter. The comment got me thinking, would the critics feel the same if they could see more innovative ways to use it?

1) Community Help Desk - I’ve already used Twitter several times to investigate an issue I’ve been having with my computer, or a problem one of my clients has come across. Just yesterday I was able to pinpoint the source of a domain redirect issue because my followers in other countries could reach the site even though I was being redirected.

2) Write a Collaborative Book - you and a bunch of your favorite Tweeps could write a novel, one sentence (tweet) at a time. The results could range from hilarious to Shakespearean. I thought of this while reading about the popularity of Japanese novels composed via mobile text messages, but it turns out that some attempts have been made at this already e.g. 140 Novel and Good Captain. You could do a similar thing with song lyrics.

3) Live Webinars/Tutorials - you could create a new Twitter account with protected updates and ask invitation-only participants to follow you. Then you could hold a *closed* webinar at a pre-arranged time using Twitter for delivery instead of expensive webinar solutions. Twitter allows you to live chat, post links, photos, videos, audio files and text so there is no need for any plug-ins. You could even use a Twitter buffer like Twuffer to space out the content of the webinar via tweets over a specific timeframe.

4) Free Market Research - Who needs to pay expensive market research companies to learn stuff about your latest product? Just send a link, a free sample or a short survey to your followers and watch the feedback flow in.

5) Online Reputation Management - Twitter is ideal for tracking what people are saying about you, your company or your product. You can use Twitter Search to enter keywords or hash tags. Or you can use purpose-built widgets such as TweetBeep which work just like Google Alerts and send you regular emails containing any discussions involving your chosen Twitter accounts or hash tags. These work well for competitor tracking too.

6) Laugh a Day / Therapy - I’m consistently amazed how many long-term Twitter users fail to use the favorites option to bookmark tweets that they like. Whenever I read a tweet that makes me laugh out loud, I favorite it immediately. Then, whenever I am feeling a bit flat, stressed or sense a bad mood coming on, I turn to my favorites list knowing I will be giggling in no time. You can also rely on your followers to sense when you’re down and cheer you up.

7) Competitions - Companies like Zappos and Hand Bag Heaven have been holding competitions on Twitter for a while now. You basically elicit a response from your followers in exchange for the chance to win something. You could ask a question about one of your products or ask followers to find something on your site to win a gift certificate. But with a bit of ingenuity, you can be even more inventive.

DVDQuotes posts questions starting with WMITF, (which stands for Which Movie Is This From?) and gives away random DVDs to the Twitter user with the first correct tweet. Actor and Comedian Stephen Fry declared December 1 to be Oscar Wilde Day and asked his 30,000 plus followers to post Wildesque tweets using the hash tag #oscarwildeday for a chance to win downloads of his audio book. The competition took on a viral quality and earned the comedian at least 2,000 new followers within 48 hours.

Virtual Alarm Clock - Did you know you can use Twitter to set appointment reminders for yourself or others? You can use tools such as the Retweet Timer and Twittercal to tweet events from your Google Calendar as @replies to your Twitter profile at pre-set dates and times.

9) Idea Sharing / Community Mind Mapping - So this amazing business idea comes to you in the shower and you are busting to make it happen. But you want to be sure that your stroke of brilliance is fabulous and not folly. This is where your Twitter followers come in. Whether you tweet publicly or DM only your most trusted followers to keep it under wraps, you’ll get unbiased and practically instantaneous feedback on your big plans. Would you use it? Could it work? How much would you pay for it? What features should it have? Tapping into the combined brain power of your Twitter community is a great way to flesh out a business plan.

10) Competitor Tracking - You can use Twitter to monitor the activities of your enemi… er competitors without alerting them. Simply create an anonymous Twitter account and start following them. If they bad-mouth your company, or tweet about a product that may threaten your market share, you’ll know immediately.

11) Bug Testing - Along the same lines as 4), you can use your Twitter followers as live BETA testers when you roll out a new product or software version. Your followers will often report bugs faster than paid customers because they *know* you and want you to succeed.

12) Become Your Favorite Character - Ever idolize a particular movie star or TV character? Why not create an account for them and tweet in character? A few tweeps have done this already, with hilarious results e.g. Laura Ingalls from Little House on the Prairie and wheelchair-bound Andy from Little Britain. Just make sure you don’t step on the toes of the official sites representing the character in question.

13) Sport / Treasure Hunt Aid - With it’s 140 character limit, Twitter is the perfect medium to deliver clues for online and offline scavenger hunts and popular sports such as geocaching .

14) Live Presentation Aid - Presenting at a conference or other event with Internet access from your laptop? You can tweet on the big screen to a) make a point b) elicit a response from Tweeps in the audience c) conduct live research d) gain instant feedback on a topic or question. I’ve used Twitter this way in the past and not only is it entertaining for the audience, but it’s also a great way to overcome stage fright.

15) Build a Twitter Application - Despite not being monetized yet, Twitter’s phenomenal growth has spurred the development of hundreds of applications that make money from Twitter either via advertising or donations. Why not build your own application around Twitter and make your fortune?

About The Author
Article by Kalena Jordan, one of the first search engine optimization experts in Australia, who is well known and respected in the industry, particularly in the U.S. As well as running a daily Search Engine Advice Column, Kalena manages Search Engine College - an online training institution offering instructor-led short courses and downloadable self-study courses in Search Engine Optimization and other Search Engine Marketing subjects.

Follow Adam Ginsberg on Twitter Today!

Twitter is addicting.  The more you use it, the more you want to use it.  Just checkout my new Adam Ginsberg Twitter page!

It’s important to get a handle on how much time you’re spending on twitter.

Twitter can be an incredible asset to your business, just like email can be.  But (just like email), it can also be a huge time-waster and can suck hours out of your day without you even noticing.  You get on Twitter and then the next time you look up it’s an hour later!

A portion of self-control is important for any business person.  If you are self-employed, it becomes even more important!   Wasting time is wasting money.

Wasting time on Twitter is like sitting around the water cooler and chatting with coworkers about last night’s American Idol segment – it might be fun, and it passes the time, but it wasted time that could have been used to make money.

Here are some tips on how to keep your Twitter time under control:

1.  Schedule a time for Twitter.  Just like you can spend hours online checking emails and just surfing the ‘Net, getting on Twitter 10 times a day doesn’t help you at all.  Schedule two Twitter times per day – once in the morning and once in the evening – and then stick to it.  Your Twitter buddies can survive without knowing your entire itinerary for the day.

2.  Decide the purpose for your visit before getting on Twitter.  Are you sending a tweet about your latest blog post?  Are you trying to find local business people to network with?  Deciding what you want to do before you log on is a big time saver.

3.  Jot down notes during the day for your Twitter time.  It doesn’t have to be anything long or fancy.  A sticky note will do.  Just keep track of your thoughts so when you get on Twitter you can accomplish what you want and then leave the site.

4.  Do not tweet about every single thing you do.  No one cares if you are going to the store.  They don’t agonize over the fact that your hamster ate too much.  Keep your tweets limited to important stuff.

If you take control of your Twitter time, you can take control of how well it works for you.  Be strong.

With that being said…it’s the holidays so why not spend some time on Twitter - have some fun - enjoy yourself - and while you’re at it…follow me here:  Adam Ginsberg On Twitter

http://twitter.com/adamginsberg

Adam Ginsberg Asks: Can your Online Business Profit from Twitter?

Twitter is a hot social networking tool, but can online business owners really profit from it, or is it just a way to pass the time?

Yes, it can help!  Twitter is fast, free and simple way to get immediate results for your online business.  You can increase your traffic today, and reap the benefits quickly.

Here are some ways your business can profit from Twitter:

1.  Find local people you can network with or find local events to meet local customers.  Use the search feature (www.search.twitter.com) to find people who are near you, then follow them.  Many times they will follow you back (and be sure to thank them when they do).

2.  Get great quality traffic by sending messages (“tweets”) that are meaningful and helpful.  Twitter users come from many walks of life and income levels, so build a relationship with them to get the best results.

3.  Remember the old saying, “It’s not what you know but who you know that counts”?  That is true on Twitter, as well.  If you need a favor, send out a tweet – you never know who can help (or who knows someone who can help).

4.  Know the power of the “re-tweet,” which is what it is called when someone takes a message (“tweet”) you send and then sends it to their followers.  It is sort of like the way a forwarded email works.  Send a quality tweet to your followers and see how it gets passed along to others.

5.  Use the search feature to find like-minded people across the world.  Use it to find people who may not possess the same talents as you, but complement your talents.

Twitter is a great way to find what people need, and then help fill that need.

Twitter is an excellent tool for building your online business.  If it is used properly, it is a free asset to your Internet marketing plan.

Follow Adam Ginsberg on Twitter Here!

Twitter is a great tool for people that have an online business.   It is fast, free and effective – perfect for the online business owner.  You can sign up for a Twitter account and get going in little time and not too much effort (and did I mention it’s free?).  People from all ages, incomes and locations are signing up for Twitter – and they can become your customers.

Here are 7 Twitter tools that will make your twittering faster, better and more profitable:

1.  Grouptweet.com: Do you have a team of people who are all on Twitter, but you don’t want the info you tweet to be sent out for all to see?  Grouptweet.com lets you send a tweet to a select group of people and keeps it from prying eyes.

2.  Twittermoms.com: This site lets you connect with thousands of moms on Twitter.  This is great if you are a mom, but it can also be great if you have a product or service that benefits moms (but just make sure your Tweets aren’t spammy, or you will quickly get the boot).

3.  Tweetbeep.com: This tool is like having Google Alerts for Twitter.  You can have alerts set up for your name, company, product, service, or anything else.  If someone tweets about it, you get notified.  (Kind of like how your earn burn when someone talks about you, but high-tech and a lot better!)

4.  Twitzer (Firefox addon): Normally, Twitter tweets are limited to only 140 characters.  This nifty little gizmo lets you post more than that.

5.  Twitterfeed.com: This gadget will feed your blog posts to your Twitter account.  You can choose the frequency of the tweets.

6.  Strawpollnow.com: Create a poll on Twitter with this fun tool.  It appears to allow comments, as well.  It is great for getting your followers to interact with a tweet of yours.

7.  Twitturly.com: This tool lets you keep track of what URL’s are talked about on Twitter.

These tools can help you bring your business to the next level by keeping you informed, connected and up-to-date.

To follow Adam Ginsberg on Twitter, Click Here!