“If you’re trying to hide from your customers, don’t use Twitter.”

Increasingly, corporate giants like Comcast, PepsiCo, JetBlue Airways, Kodak and others are beefing up direct communications with shoppers through social-media tools like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. The popular social networks have helped companies quickly and cheaply reply to consumer beefs, answer questions and tailor service and goods. It has bolstered current consumer services, easing the load on call centers and expensive mailers that most customers don’t like anyhow.

Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and online software services like LiveOps, Salesforce.com and RightNow Technologies are all are getting used to improve customer service, keep users and gain a competitive advantage. As more corporations effectively use social-media tools for customer care, it is also becoming better to shift customer-relations resources to the U.S. and feed into the growing “homeshoring” trend. Home based employees are now becoming a trend among companies that take advantage of improved technology, gain productiveness from staff no longer tied to long commutes and leverage the experience of local employees. Several companies with vast call-center operations overseas plan to shift some jobs back to U.S. soil.   The advances in technology will allow companies to create virtual call centers staffed with veterans, the unemployed, college graduates and retirees, working from home.

Twitter allows companies to see in real-time what their buyers think, and they can learn a lot from that.  The greatest benefit of Twitter is “listening for the point of need”.  Finding out where the company could do something to fulfill that need.  Our short experience shows that people express their needs more on Twitter than on any other social network.  This is understandable, since you can quickly jot down a tweet, whereas a letter or even an email takes much more time.

The more ways you provide customers to get in touch with you, the more likely you are able to satisfy them.  When you show your customers that you are willing to listen to them, you create loyal followers.  For most people call centers are too maddening, with long waits and inexperienced, bad-English speaking agents.  Email is too slow in an age of instantaneous online communications. This doesn’t mean that call centers are a thing of the past though. Twitter is for basic troubleshooting and can be used as an addition to the traditional phone support.  Many people are still like to call on the phone, mostly because they haven’t even heard of Twitter.

I always jump on the social networking bandwagon. I have a MySpace that I don’t use, a LinkedIn that I don’t understand and a FaceBook that I’m addicted to.

So when I heard about Twitter, I thought it was dumb (to put it mildly.) To be fair, as a general rule, anything that is promoted by news stations before the general public knows about it, I believe is trash.

Three months ago however, one of my many employers sent out a mass email telling us to follow them on Twitter. I am a full-time college student who does marketing jobs on the weekends; passing out flyers, signing people up for credit cards, doing food samples at Walmart/Sams Clubs and going to concerts and giving out free stuff.

The email stated that extra job openings will be tweeted 3 times a day. Usually these marketing gigs go by quick because they pay well and the work is not too difficult. So, I swallowed my pride and joined the twitter world.

After browsing, I realized that a majority of my marketing employers used Twitter to post new job openings that they don’t send through mass emails. I started to follow all my employers, potential employers, family and friends too.

I linked my cell phone to Twitter and I receive on average 100 text messages a day from potential employers. I was getting sick of it and about to quit until something great happened.

Last month, I received a Tweet on my cell phone while eating dinner. My boyfriend rolled his eyes because he is sick of hearing “Almost Easy” every hour when my cell phone “Tweets” goes off. The tweet said “Cartoon Network Event in WPB, FL need staff immediately.”

I called my staffing coordinator and she hired me that second. I worked that entire week and got my biggest paycheck ever. $1,000 for roughly 30 hours of work, that’s a lot for a college student (Although it’s gone now, due to wonderful bills.)

So, I have resumed being in love with Twitter. I use it primarily for work (I have FaceBook for friends/family) and I get so many extra jobs from it.

I know that Twitter can revolutionize the job hunting process for many unemployed people. I read an article claiming that Twitter has helped many people find jobs.

Employers like Palm Beach Post and ATT post jobs on Twitter and it can be great to be able to get job postings to your cell phone so you don’t have to sit by the computer all the time.

I wonder if Craigslist has a Twitter?

Twitter is a preview of the third generation of the web, where we are communicating in real-time. The first generation of the Web was rather static. It was mostly about companies displaying their products and services on web pages. Individuals started creating personal websites, but they too were static. The Web was used for publishing and a lot of screen scraping was done to cut and paste from other websites so you could fill your own.

The second generation of the Web, the so-called ‘Web 2.0’ was already more interactive. With the advent of Web services, the web became a more connected place. Companies now had to show much more interaction with their customers and started using the social networking media like MySpace and Facebook, to set up a dialogue with their customers. Individuals were using these social networking media to connect with their friends and to keep them posted on what they were doing. Everywhere you could see ‘wikis’ being set up and individuals started blogging about a wide range of subjects. This created a web where you could follow what was going on in a certain niche and take part in the discussion.

The third generation of the Web is about to break loose. Here we take one step further than interactive, we go real-time. Here the Web is just there… connecting everything and every body. We will see real-time interactions between devices and people are juicing a gigantic stream of data that everybody can jump into. Surely people will still be concerned about what happened in the past, but this generation of the web is about what’s happening now.

Twitter gives us a glimpse of what this the third generation of the Web could be like. It lets us communicate in near real-time, but it resembles a stream of information we can dip into.

Many things that happen in the world are reported on Twitter first. When that plane landed in the Hudson River early 2009 a guy called Janis Krums was on the ferry picking up the first survivors. He took a picture of the plane and tweeted this to the world. When the elections in Iran in June 2009 were over, the world learned from the many tweets from Iran that there were violent protests against the election results. When the protests started, the regular news media like CNN did not pick this up for hours. This in itself caused a big discussion on Twitter (#cnnfail) about the role that the regular news media should be playing, where what is happening on Twitter is taken into account. The issue here is: can what is tweeted be trusted by the news media or is further investigation required. The answer is a difficult one, but one thing is clear “ the truth is more seen than read”, so anything that is documented on video or photos, can be trusted more than what is just written.

As Twitter becomes more popular and is featured on the news as providing information about real world people issues about identity arise. Treated as an information source it is hard to verify that people twittering are actually who they claim to be, even more so than Facebook which uses email identification, at least for colleges.

News sources can be seen as vetting the identity of Twitter accounts by featuring them, we assume they have done their research, but this is not always the case. It is hard to know what is going on at the non-celebrity level, if people are playing pranks on each other with twitter, or more serious issues have arisen.

There are a wide range of reactions by famous people to finding a Twitter account claiming to be them. Folk singer Kimya Dawson decided to create one of her own after it came to her attention there was an impostor. There are numerous Stephen Colberts, some of which just drop quotes from the show others which actively pretended to be him and interacted with fans until they were found out, but not by Colbert, who doesn’t have any interest in the issue.

On the other end of the spectrum, pop musician Momus found his Twitter doppelganger amusing, as it fit into his ideas of postmodernism and authorship. For each entry in the real Momus’s LiveJournal, known as Click Opera, Twit Opera provides a pithy and sarcastic summary.

There are more serious cases reported by the news media, involving more than musicians and television actors. Financial institutions have had problems with Twitter impostors, Bank of America investigated an account claiming to be an employee, and many brands are concerned about possible bad reputations developing from fake accounts that are perceived as real mouthpieces.

For any corporation information control is a serious issue, so it is likely not a drastic change for them. Politicians would be in the same boat, well versed in dealing with public relations and controlling information, but they are usually not as good with technology, since typically they are respected for their seniority. In Alaska veteran Republican congressman Donald Young quickly acted to shut down his Twitter impersonator, however.

And with technology so comes law. A lawyer has already stepped up to specialize in Twitter impersonation cases, sending desist letters to Twitter and the errant account holders and filing legal actions if necessary. So watch out what twitter accounts you trust, a little investigation clears up most doubts, and also watch out who you fake, you could be sued!

As a user on twitter said that “addictions come in many forms…” This is true for my twitter usage, There have been a number of benefits associated with my twitter membership, but none explain my constant use besides addiction. I will list a few benefits that I have experienced using twitter. Great websites, Breaking news, Late night entertainment, friendships, a substitute for a journal, and a belief that someone is listening to me.

Among websites that I discovered through using twitter is this one. I was complaining about my life as was common, with our current economic situation. I expressed my need of a job,, or some way to make money. Somebody suggested to look at ClickBank . It goes without saying that I have, and so my hopes of finding a way to make money were not met in vain. Making such an idle comment on twitter led me here, where I am able to save up my money in order to purchase a vehicle and change my entire life standing. I have also communicated to others my testimony of tweeting and ClickBank to bring about true change in life style.

Probably the most exciting use of twitter is to get all of the breaking news before it breaks. There are websites that just list newspapers and organizations that tweet headlines. It is nice to receive constant outpouring of information via SMS on m phone regardless of where I am. Early in the morning, just waking up, in my bed. I know the weather forecasts and traffic conditions in my area, and globally. Each night as I lie in bed in that reminiscent state, I empty my mind of all the frivolous thoughts filling my head.

Through My social network, I have discovered such thoughts are actually of use to others. Above all though, I have discovered a cure for insomnia. Clearing my thoughts is in a sense therapeutic, and it is a natural way to ease my mind and prepare it for slumber. Plus, Tweeting gives me something to do instead of joining the millions of Americans who watch Late Night talk shows, I find my entertainment elsewhere. I just moved across the country, and belong to a large family.

Twitter allows me a fast and easy way to stay in contact with my friends and family. With twitter I have shared up-to-date photos of such events as ultrasound pictures, and a hike on a island that included up close viewing of live buffalo. Though I have been warned about forging close friendships online, twitter has provided me with a safety net of friends who care about what I say and always have something worthwhile to say. I really feel my life is better from using twitter.

Lastly, I always have my cell phone or laptop with me, making twitter the perfect substitute for a journal, recording my life events without pen or paper. Though not my intent or purpose, It was pointed out to me that I was being very “green” in saving trees, by not using paper. For me it was just a matter of convenience.

But when all is said and done, My true reason for tweeting remains: I am addicted, I couldn’t stop if I tried. Today I read a comment by Kate Hewlett (a famous actress, one of many Popular icons I follow) She said “What? Too busy for twitter or beer? Now, that must be really busy!”

Hashtags is an advanced, but easy-to-use Twitter feature. The reason they are called hashtags is because they start with a # symbol. Here are some examples: #rejectprop8, #dragmetohell, etc #rejectprop8 is a hashtag that people used when talking about Proposition 8. Users can put “#rejectprop8″ and then other Twitter users can easily find their tweets by looking at all the #rejectprop8 tweets.

Many Twitter applications, mobile and desktop, allow users to find hashtags. Some applications call them “trends” instead of “hashtags”. Most applications will keep track of the 10 or 20 most popular hashtags at any given time, so it really lets you see what people are talking about at any given time.

When the movie Drag Me to Hell came out last week (05/29/09) in the United States, many Twitter users began talking about it, and the #dragmetohell hashtag quickly jumped to the top of the Twitter top hashtag list. When looking at the #dragmetohell hashtag, I found tweets about the movie. Some contained links to reviews, some were just tweets about the user going to the movie that night, some were tweets suggesting that their friends should go see the movie, etc.

Many celebrities that have a lot of followers are very good at starting trends a.k.a. hashtags. They will post about #something and that #something will become very popular in a short amount of time. Many of their followers will begin talking about that topic and it will become widespread very quickly.

Another advanced feature is “re-tweeting” and if celebrities re-tweet tweets from their followers and those tweets in turn contain hashtags, the topic’s popularity will in a sense compound. For example, when Blink 182 member Mark Hoppus began posting about #rejectprop8, he also re-tweeted some tweets that his followers sent about #rejectprop8, and that in turn boosted the popularity of the #rejectprop8 hashtag. Soon it was at the top of the list, and Mark tweeted about how he was amazed how fast it climbed to the top of the list.

If you’re tired of reading the news to find out what’s going on, consider checking out the Twitter trend lists. Apps that let you easily follow the trend list are Twitterific, Tweetie and Twittertrend.

TIP: To make a schreen capture of your iPhone, simply press and hold the “Home” button at center bottom of the iPhone, then press and release the “Sleep” button on top right of the iPhone. This causes the iPhone to “flash” white briefly and the image is added to your “camera roll” on the iPhone!

What makes Twitter particularly interesting is the variety of mobile Twitter application on the iPhone. All of them offer different features, and each tries to stand out from the crowd by offering its own assortment of Twitter functionality.
My favorite of the applications I have tried, is Twitterific by “iconfactor.” It offers the most attractive user interface and is by far the easiest to use. Runner-up, in my mind, is Tweetie, which offers a little more functionality but is not quite as easy on the eyes. They both open up the world of Twitter to the user.
They offer even more features than the Twitter website itself! In my opinion, until somebody has used these apps, they have not experienced Twitter and will not understand why it is interesting or even worth using.
It is such an interesting way to communicate and interact with others. Even celebrities! Celebrities love using Twitter because they don’t have to “be friends” with other users like similar social sites would require, such as Facebook or MySpace.
What is challenging about Twitter is that it limits what you want to say to 140 characters, and even text like web links are included. So if you include a web link, you’re pretty limited in what you can say in your “tweet”. That is why a myriad of URL shorteners has sprung up, to make your web liks as short as possible. TinyURL was one of the first to offer this, but their name is actually too long…I use http://csd.nl – works great!
A rare feature in Twitter iPhone applications (even the official Twitter site does not offer this) is the ability to see a list of tweets that were written about any particular user. Reading these tweets is often very interesting, especially if they are written to a celebrity. You get to see how normal people would talk to a celebrity, and you can see how the celebrity responded as well. Some Twitter applications allow you to see conversations (or “threads”). This is another advanced feature that not all Twitter apps offer.
A lot of people are talking about Twitter lately. But Twitter works best when people are just using it rather than talking about it. If people talk about it without using it, it could be in danger of becoming a fad.
I personally think that Twitter has a bright future. There are so many improvements and innovations that could be made. When the day comes that I can record a video with my iPhone and then post it on Twitter for all my followers to see instantly, I will be in geek heaven and will more than likely abuse that feature.

Like so many others, when my friend Mitchell first heard about Twitter he was skeptical. However he found a very useful application for the 140 characters allowed in a tweet.  This is what he told me:  

At first I thought is this whole Twitter thing was rather silly.  A 140-character limit sounded like a twisted celebration of our society’s short attention span; what could you possibly say in so few words that would be worth reading? The first examples I saw were not particularly encouraging. Tweeting the most mundane daily occupations out to the world appealed to some friends, but that didn’t mean I’d want to read about what they had for breakfast.

As the Twitter universe expanded, though, other more imaginative people thought of some great things to do with 140 characters. Augusten Burroughs, author of Dry and Running with Scissors, was one of several authors who recently participated in Twitter book clubs, allowing readers to take part in real time discussions about their favorite books.

I had previously tried my hand at book reviews on websites like GoodReads, a social networking site for readers, and BookCrossing, a book review and exchange site, but it was such a commitment. Giving every book the thoughtful, detailed review it deserved could turn into a chore, and it was easy to procrastinate until I’d forgotten what the book was even about.

That’s when I remembered my Twitter account. It had been lying dormant since I’d joined (mainly just to read Russell Brand’s hilarious and inspired tweets), but now I had a purpose: 140 character book reviews. Oh, I’m sure someone else already thought of it, but that isn’t really the point. Instead of letting the world know what random thought is going through my head or what I’m watching on TV, I can turn Twitter into a tool that’s useful for me, a place to create miniature records of the books I’ve read and enjoyed (or not) without the time-consuming need to expound on every plot twist.

Capturing the essence of a book in 140 characters has its own rewards and challenges. It is necessary to strip out every syllable of extraneous detail, to reduce the impact of hundreds of pages to, essentially, a single sentence. Watching the Twitter character count dwindle downward toward zero puts the pressure on, and I find myself aiming for a new kind of perfection: exactly 140 characters. To see the big zero in the right hand corner of the screen is strangely satisfying.

“Last Night at the Lobster, Stewart O’Nan: a day in the life of a food service manager; much more enjoyable to read than it would be to live.” Okay, so it’s not exactly a haiku, or any sort of art, but it’s my own reason to tweet.  

The key to enjoying Twitter: find your own.

The first thing my friend Adriana did when she signed up for the extremely hip and popular Internet app Twitter was click on Find People so she could populate her feed with friends she knew. I think she found about 5 actual contacts, but none that were active. However, after becoming more familiar with the software, she realized that she could add celebrity Twitters and create her very own pop culture RSS feed!
The most interesting celebrity feeds on Twitter she found are:
• Warren Ellis – Ellis is a renown comic book/fiction writer known for the acclaimed Transmetropolitan and Hellbrazer series, as well as prose novels such as Crooked Little Vein and Listener. Joining his Twitter has kept me abreast of his work, but also has given me a peek into his very active imagination and sarcastic (and very British) humor. He also responds to your Tweets!
• Hugh Jackman – This Hollywood star is best known for his role in X-Men as Wolverine, but his Twitter lets us into a more private world where we see that Jackman is actually a really nice guy (who else would pay for breakfast for hundreds of fans waiting to see his movie??)
• Rainn Wilson – Also known as Dwight from hit NBC series The Office, Wilson has a very funny and frequently updated Twitter that shows him jostling back and forth with other comedians, and even regular ol’ readers like you and I!
• William Shatner – The original Captain Kirk of Star Trek is still kicking it online and has now picked up the pace with his Twitter, adding more frequent updates and interesting links relating to himself, Priceline, and even the new Star Trek movie.
• Dave Mustaine – Lead singer and guitarist of thrash metal band Megadeth, Mustaine gives his fans updates on recording, touring and is looking for you to join his page and spread the word.
• John Mayer – Popular guitarist and singer John Mayer has become notorious for his Twitter updates and his candor in general. Even if you aren’t a fan of the man’s music, it is definitely worth checking out his page because you’re bound to be on top of something that will be gracing Star magazine next week!
So think of a few celebrities you like and look up if they have a Twitter! There’s also always the option of trying the Suggestions tab to see who Twitter thinks you should follow. Have a blast – and maybe, just maybe, you’ll be able to get a tweet back from your favorite star!

Maybe a million different ways is a bit much, but it can surely be used in ways we have not figured out yet. You can implement it in the business enterprise or use it at home. You can find tweets describing what people ate for dinner last night or you can find police reports; an example can be seen here Milwaukee Police on Twitter.

There are some important advanced usages for Twitter, and if you think about new unique ways to use the service you realize that it can be much more than just another social networking website. Twitter does not have a large number of advanced features, and this can be a good thing in some cases. It allows the user to mold the service around just about anything. I have seen police departments using it to announce arrests and other police reports. Other strange or useful appearances have involved fire departments or new software releases.

One important usage that just about everyone could take advantage of would be implementing it with your blog. This can help to tell the world about new blog posts and other information related to your website or blog. This is the easiest and cheapest way to advertise your content. Some content management systems allow easy integration; examples include WordPress, Joomla, and Mambo. There is really no reason to not include Twitter considering how easy it is to implement.

This may be why lately we are seeing a huge increase in Twitter news-related stories. However, you can also use Twitter in the workplace. This can be a great way to quickly share information with co-workers or the outside world. It is a free service and perfect for quick advertising. You can build up hype or share news on a new product release using Twitter. It allows people in the business world to share something new and unique in an easy and fast way. I have seen tweets regarding new video games releases. When these are released with new information people talk about them for days on end. It can be a very useful tool for building hype. The service seems to drive sales much higher when used properly.

However, you also have to be aware of the security issues that are involved. Any information you share basically becomes publicly available. This information can be seen by the entire world. You should therefore be careful with the information you share. In conclusion, the important place to start would be with analyzing your current business model. Understand what it is that you sell and what you want out of a service like Twitter. Think about the potential with advertisements and communication benefits.