What is Twitter?

Twitter is a service that helps friends, family, and co-workers communicate quickly and easily through short updates using 140 characters or less.

At first it is often hard to understand the concept behind Twitter but once you "get it" it is very addicting.

I love twitter because it has become an easy way for to communicate with people with similar interests as well as a way to promote my sites and also meet people I would never have access to in "real life" such as Shaquille O'Neil, millionaire Probloggers and CopyBloggers, and direct access to retailers such as Rubbermaid, and Dunkin Donuts, and I can get my news from USA Today and CNN.

How do I use it? Tell your followers what you are doing in 140 characters or less! Send your thoughts, observations, and what is going on in your day. Whether you're "eating an apple" or "looking forward to the weekend" or "Heading out of town" it's twitter-worthy.

Do I need anything special to use Twitter?

In order to use Twitter you will need one of these things:

• a computer
• an internet connection
• a browser such as Firefox, Safari, or Internet Explorer
• or a mobile phone

Send updates to your followers about what you're doing in the way that works best for you in various ways including:

• from your phone
• from your Twitter.com account page
• from any of the third party applications (see Twitter Tools)

Following someone simply means you will receive their Twitter updates. When you follow someone many times they will follow you back and then you will have followers.

How do I follow someone?

1. Go to search.twitter.com
2. Type in a keyword to help you find people with similar interests.
3. Or, you can type in someone's Twitter user name (mine is TheComputerLady) or email address.
4. Click Search.
5. When you find someone you want to follow click on their user name.
6. On the next page you can click the Follow button under their picture.

Followers may include co-workers, friends, or family members, but then again they could also be perfect strangers. If you find someone you want to "follow" just click the Follow link under their icon and their updates will appear on your list.

Sign up for your Free Twitter account.