“What are you doing?”  This is the question Twitter
asks.  Friends, Family and Co-Workers can stay in touch using
Twitter.  You can find specific people and keep track of them, or follow
the Public Timeline.  Either way it is a truly unique tool for communicating.
Twitter was started in March of 2006 in San Francisco where it caught fire and
became its own phenomenon.

How does this affect you as a business owner?  Twitter
is fast becoming the new “water cooler”.  Your employees and co-workers
can chat about what was on TV last night and how the weather looks for the
coming weeks.  They can do this if they work virtually or in offices that
are across the country from each other. It fosters a sense of community.
In the long run a sense of community contributes to talent retention and a
higher rate of employee satisfaction.  What about the down time?
Isn’t this taking away from work time?  Not really.  People are going
to talk and socialize at work no matter what.  This is just a new medium
that I believe will replace other mediums and not actually increase the amount
of time that people spend on non-work activities. 

Twitter has created a new knowledge network.  You and
your employees have instant access to experts across the country.  If you
have a question there will be an answer usually in just minutes.  You are
able to reach out beyond the circle of who you know.  It is much faster
than searching the internet and the answer can be expanded on and grows as
necessary.  By using Twitter you have now added virtual headcount that can
work as a think tank.  It moves from just answering “What are you doing?”
to “What do you need?” or “How can I help?”

How can you work this into your business?  Many are
starting to use Twitter as a backend communication tool for websites and
blogs.  Readers are able to get instant feedback on their thoughts and
questions.  This keeps people coming back.  Businesses are also
looking into using it as a crisis warning system.  It can alert many
people at one time of a major event.  Do you need something tested?
This is also a great way to have unbiased beta testing completed.  Think
viral marketing; think of how many people you can reach via Twitter.  It
isn’t about spamming, it’s about reaching out and becoming part of a community
where you can communicate with untold amounts of people.   

We are now one step closer to the web becoming fully
organic, a living thing, which is part of who we are- constantly changing and
updating.  This is a very exciting time!