"At its most basic, Twitter is a communication tool. It's a channel that lets you speak to lots of people and enlighten them about your life and work. You can think of it as a giant virtual water cooler. It's a place where people come to get to know each other, to make friends, to network, and, most importantly, to converse," writes Joel Comm, a popular presence on Twitter and one of the world's experts on strategies for making money online. In this snappy and user friendly work, he and Ken Burge, explain the essentials of this social networking tool. Twitter is a service that lets anyone send a message no longer than 140 characters that answers the question "What are you doing now?" You can send that message at any time from your computer or your mobile phone, and it can be read by anyone who has chosen to receive (follow) your messages.
There is a playful dimension to Twitter that Comm emphasizes again and again. But it is also a networking aid, a source of new information, and a way to build relationships with clients and other entrepreneurs. Twitter was founded two years ago and by March 2008, was sending more than 3 million messages a day between more than a million users, of whom 200,000 were active on a daily basis. The largest age demographic is now 35- to 44-year olds. Membership is free. Twitter, characterized by its brevity and simplicity, is now the leading microblogging service.
With great punch, Comm discuses setting up a username, a password, a profile, a picture of yourself, a background image, and sending your first tweet. He then moves on to one of the key questions facing any newbie on Twitter: how to build a following. His answer: "Produce content that's interesting, fun, and valuable." Another key is: "Give back more than you take." In chapter six, Comm explores creative ways to connect with customers on Twitter. This is followed by ideas on leveraging Twitter for team communication, for help building your brand, and for driving the behavior of your followers.
Comm does a great job describing Third-Party Tools and a 30-Day Plan for Dominating Twitter. All of this material is essential to anyone who wants to make the most of the time spent on this incredible microblogging service.
