To quote Wikipedia:
Twitter is a social networking and micro-blogging service that allows users to send "updates" (text-based posts, up to 140 characters long) via SMS, instant messaging, the Twitter website, or an application such as Twitterrific.
140 characters is not a lot of text, so generally these updates are written in response to the question "What are you doing?", though many people are now using this micro format to share links to longer articles and blog posts. Twitter and Jaiku support web feeds and SMS updating via mobile devices.
Twitter is currently straining with growing pains as a result of its recent popularity; occasionally the servers lock, or don't send updates, while Jaiku is operating pretty smoothly without any issues. If you can't decide, you can always integrate both of them by using TwitKu - a cool mashup presenting both your Twitter and Jaiku accounts on the same web page.
So, why, you may ask, would your employer allow you access to a social network? "That's not work, it's socializing!", he says. You link to your friends, it's kind-of like Instant messaging, and that's firewalled, so why should Twitter (and Jaiku) be considered work-permissible resources? Here's your ammunition:
- Networking - Twitter and Jaiku allow you to develop and maintain 'light' social relationships with people, who could be industry thought-leaders, suppliers, developers or contractors. For example, do you want to know what Scobel is doing at this moment? 'Follow' him in Twitter. Posts often describe current projects, or maybe what they had for lunch.
- Persistence - Google and the other search bots crawl Twitter and Jaiku. Do a Google search on bgrier and Twitter and you'll find my 'tweets' (as Twitter posts are called).
- Knowledge - There's nothing like knowing what Steve Rubel is thinking and playing with at the moment. You have that knowledge almost instantly by 'following' him. Find other thought leaders, follow them, and it's almost like you're inside their head.
- Early Adopter - Twitter and Jaiku are really new social media. You'll see a few articles here and there, but by getting familiar with this micro-format technology now, you'll be better able to understand the role of it, and advise its use in your organization.
- News - Since you're limited to 140 characters, posts tend to include the URL of longer articles or posts. This format is a great, email-free way to send out news updates, gather opinion, update stakeholders, or even request help.
Here's two recent and cool examples of Twitter that I was following:
Technorati Tags: Twitter, Jaiku, Social Media, Micro Format, Microblogging, Blog,
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- Another great example of networking and self promotion via Twitter
- Nifty Hack: How to circumvent a firewall with Twitter, Jaiku, Twitku using Netvibes
- Social Media / Social Networks?
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