Twitter

What is Twitter?

Twitter is a mini-blogging platform that you can use to send messages of 140 characters or less to family, friends, or just the general Web community at large.

You can also choose to follow other Twitter community members' posts, either by navigating directly to the Twitter site, subscribing to that particular Twitter RSS feed, or getting Twitter posts sent to your mobile device (text messaging fees will apply for this option; check with your provider).

What do people use Twitter for?

There are many different uses for Twitter. Some of the most common are:

• Instant updates. For instance, the Los Angeles Fire Department uses Twitter to keep the community apprised of fire emergences (LAFD).
• News. You can get up to the minute news updates from many news agencies; for instance, Sky News (SkyNews).
• Friends and family. The majority of Twitter users use it to keep friends and family apprised of what they're doing at any given moment. It's a great way to fire off a quick jolt of news if you don't have a lot of time to write anything more substantial (you can see my Twitter feed at wboswell).

Why should I use Twitter?

Personally, I use Twitter as a quick journal of what I'm doing day to day. For instance, looking back at the last couple weeks of my Twitter feed, I noticed that I had a lot of baseball games, lots of talking to my cat (don't ask), and interactions with my kids. People are finding new uses for Twitter all the time - what will you use it for?