Okay folks. Reporting a few months later...

I really like Twitter.

A cool support program is http://www.tweetlater.com/

It allows you to schedule tweets and automatically follow people (and send them auto direct messages)...

I am not 100& sold on twitter. It feels like another version of IM. Maybe it is and that the point, but for me I don't have time.

Michael, so you are now on Twitter!!! Probably I will follow your signing up..Thanks for the post, now I got some additional info on Twitter use

@Matt and Tom: I switched over to Twhirl yesterday. Love it. I've also added a Twhirl widget to my blog's sidebar: grey-consulting.com/blog

@Matt: You have it; signing in and out of accounts isn't really my idea of a good time. I'll take a look at Twhirl.

After a while, it would be interesting to receive a report of your appraisal of Tweeter from a practical value versus time consumed perspective.

@Tom Chandler "I’m tempted to fire up a separate account, but there doesn’t seem to be any way to do so in Twitter, and no easy answers in the FAQ."

What do you mean, exactly. Having two accounts is as easy as signing out of the first and creating the second. Do you mean follow two at once? Well, yeah, this can be clunky.

You can have one account open in a browser, and a second account open in another browser. Or you can follow one account in an app like Twitterific and another in a browser. Or, I hear Twhirl supports multiple simultaneous logins, but can't attest to that myself.

Really great discussion everyone!!

See Jay's comment "P.S. Twhirl is the best client: http://www.twhirl.org/" I just downloaded twhirl. You can also receive tweets via GTalk (twitter@twitter.com).

I've starting following several of my heavy-duty Twitter colleagues. Reading your comments and following others tweets is allowing me to see patterns. so, I've decided to do some informal research that I hope to turn into real research -- e.g., in a white paper :).

Taking Twitter one step further, can a micro-blog be used to augment your real blog? The answer is "yes." However, I've not yet seen a good example.

Welcome to the club then :)...I made my twitter account account few months ago, but still newbie until now as I use it rarely :)

Welcome to hell. Don't forget to try the cookies. Enjoy your stay.

P.S. Twhirl is the best client: http://www.twhirl.org/

http://twitter.com/jfhscribble...

I've been using twitter simply to throw short posts up on the sidebar of my fly fishing blog. It's proven useful, but that's obviously not the way everybody else uses it.

I'm tempted to fire up a separate account, but there doesn't seem to be any way to do so in Twitter, and no easy answers in the FAQ.

Then there's the little matter of distractions; I'm not at all sure I need another.

Hi Michael,

Just got your newsletter and had to check this out. I've gone ahead and signed up. It might be fun!

Michelle

@rjleaman: Our comments crossed -- thanks for the great ideas! I'm starting to see how I might be able to use it.

@Mike: Thanks for responding. Not to sound stalker-ish, but I joined because you did! :-) I greatly appreciate your starting this conversation, and all the comments on this post. Too often Twitter-philes say, "just get on and you'll see." This post has some of the best advice I've seen for how busy people can use Twitter in the real world for their benefit. Thanks again!

I second the vote for Twitterrific, It's a really nice way to follow tweets. Note, you can use it for free, fully functional, but it sends you an ad every hour. Paying 14.95 disables the ads. Another option is Twhirl, which runs on Adobe's AIR platform. I tried it and wasn't impressed enough to switch, but lots of folks swear by it.

The first thing you should do is find a desktop client, rather than relying strictly on the website. For Mac, the king is still Twitterrific, and for PCs the recommendation is Twhirl. The best feature on Twitterrific is its ability to come to you with a new tweet and then disappear, without requiring any intervention. It is a very different experience to have to go to the web site.

I also recommend tying Jott and Twitter together, so your mobile phone can become a call that will translate your voice message to text to post. It doesn't work so well in, say, airports where the background noise confuses the system, but otherwise it is quicker and less costly than keying in the text message.

@rjleaman What a great list of ways to use Twitter! Thank you, there are some ideas there I will try. :o)

I didn't get twitter either... when I first signed up. But since then, I've learned what it takes and it's fun. Here are my lessons learned.
http://meryl.net/2008/04/01/7-...

Kellye - Wow! A fan :)

Honestly, my friend Brian Clark recently was talking about how cool it was.

Then I started typing in names and saw all these people on there.

I had a few minutes and just dove on in.

Frankly, it has not even been 24 hours!

When another friend (who will be nameless) told me he was thinking of writing a book and got ton's of comments from his followers, I thought "wow, pretty powerful."

So here I am. Now, Kellye, your turn... (and others please)

Like Maureen, I've joined Twitter but I'm among those who still don't "get it." It would seem to me that if you have an information-based business, there would be more value in it than for those of us who (for now) have only service-based businesses, since I suppose it helps increase your exposure.

Mike: I've long been a fan of your career (I don't just lurk on Twitter, I've been lurking on your Forums and blog, too!), so I'd love to know: what caused you to take the plunge?

@Maurene, and if Michael had not joined Twitter, what are the odds I'd have found his blog among the many many many?

I use Twitter to float a question that Google can't answer; to make a break in my work day; to get a broader point of view (critical, I think, for freelancers who work largely in isolation); to poll the zeitgeist on a topic I'm thinking/writing about, to find new bloggers with whom I share personal and professional interests; to be alerted when interesting people write new posts (or find new resources) about things I want to learn; to put a human face on the faceless Internet; to send and receive quick messages that aren't quite worth the trouble of email but make my life easier in some way because they're exchanged; to share links I find useful (or admittedly, sometimes, those that are simply entertaining) or items on which I'd like to get feedback or a second opinion; to find out whether other writers would choose to capitalize the word 'royalist' in a certain context; and for occasional bits of foolishness, too.

Someone wrote recently - and sorry, can't recall just where I read it now - that the point of Twitter will become clear when you do as the habituees do: try to *avoid* answering the question, "What are you dong now?" and see where Twitter can take you from there!

@ Maurene I have only been on Twitter for just over a week but here is just one of many examples of positive possibilities from that one week:

Someone asked a question on Twitter, requesting info I thought I'd probably come across on my travels (researching a generally similar subject at the moment) and in 'keeping an eye out' for them, I ended up doing someon else a favour and compiling a list of refrences and links that will come in useful to me at some point in the future too!

As for your question: Try it! If you click on Mike's link, it will take two seconds to sign up and Mike has asked this very question on there, so this is a great way to get plenty of answers!

It's not for everyone, I guess, but I honestly think it's worth a try.

:o)

I have yet to feel compelled to tell folk what I'm doing each day, hour or minute. Nor do I have the patience to read what others are doing. Yet Twitter, or a variation thereof, is integrated into almost every social network -- and, I admit, I'll peak at someone's tweek.

When I think of Twitter, I'm reminded of Clara Pelle (the little old lady who asked "Where's the beef" in the famous 1984-85 Wendy's commercials" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v....

In the time that it took me to type this comment, I could have twittered a zillion entries. But, like my friend Clara, I still don't get "where's the beef"?

What do you get out of twittering?

@Dianne & RJL: Thank you for the kind words, that made my day.
@Michael: Yup, RJL explained it nicely. And in answer to your tweet earlier: I use Twitter to get to know the rest of the people in our niche. It's interesting to see the comments rolling by throughout the day. I may not say much, but I am lurking in the shadows observing. Twitter has proven an excellent for networking and getting information from peers.

Hi Michael, welcome aboard the Twitter train. As DN has said, and I paraphrase as am unaccountably short on original thought, it being Monday - any friend of Harry's... ;) Following!

You asked: "how do you apply to someone?"
Answer: If you're logged in to your Twitter account, you'll see a "request to follow" link when you try to view the profile page or updates of someone whose Twitter account is set to private/protected. Click to send a request - nothing more is required of you. The user will either accept or deny, as they choose.

Um, I was going to add something humorous about weeping into one's beer if denied a follow, but we've not yet been formally introduced and humour can be so easily misread... best to err on the side of good behaviour and caution. But if you think of anything rib-splittingly funny in that line, feel free to assume I'd have said it here.

@ Jaques Twitter newbie here too, and I know what you mean by all the glazed over looks. Sure people think am finally losing the plot ... they just don't get it!

@Michael It's funny how things work ...

I found your blog via Harrison's tweet on Twitter, because I have a good deal of respect for his opinion and because being a newbie myself I thought you might appreciate a little encouragement!

So I said hello on Twitter and checked out your very interesting blog (thank you for all the great advice!) I signed up for your newsletter and updates (but sadly coudn't download the chapter of Writing White Papers ... probably something am doing wrong, will try again later!)

But I did receive your newsletter ... about Twitter! Thank you, I'm glad subscribing to your blog has worked and look forward to hearing more.

It's good to hear you're enjoying Twitter!

:o)

Am also a twitter newbie...am a South African resident, and we lag a wee bit with certain things...hahahah...people just give you a glazed over look when you ask them about twitter...

Cool - And how do you apply to someone? Thanks Harrison

Michael,

It's easy, just click on the link to the person's page (like http://twitter.com/vegaspenman... you should see a button under their avatar in the upper left that says "Follow". Click that and they're added to your list.

Guys - How do I "Follow" someone on Twitter??

Good enough for Harry, good enough for me.

Followed!

https://twitter.com/davenavarr...

@ Harrison Haha! Twitter is like potato chips ... you are so right! As a very recent convert I agree, it's very moreish.

@ Matt The problem is there are soooo many interesting people on Twitter!

@ Mike Well, you're there ... now what? Enjoy the ride!

Have only been twittering for a week so still getting to grips with it. I wish I'd discovered it sooner, I've learned lots of interesting things. (And I wish I had interesting things to reciprocate!)

:o)

Now what? Now you start following all sorts of really interesting people. And also me, if you want.

Mike,

So you finally caved too? Welcome to the club.

James wrote up our ultimate guide to twitter and it might help you figure out what to do next.

Twitter is worse than potato chips. You can't just stop at one.