5 Good Reasons to Learn How to Use Twitter for Business and Personal Use

Like many technologies, Twitter is not without bugs and its original purpose was deemed ambiguous. Consequently, potential fans abandoned the motivation to learn how to use Twitter properly. Yet, it is people that make technology worthwhile, and every day enterprising individuals realize the power behind this easy-to-use, mass communication tool.

You may have heard words like "micro-blogging" associated with Twitter. Rest assured that minuscule technical knowledge is needed to learn Twitter. No blog is required nor the need to befriend strangers. MySpace and Facebook burnouts rejoice.

The catch? Messages or "tweets" must be short, about a sentence long including links. Conversely, headline-style broadcasts are the underestimated beauty behind Twitter and it's no longer about relaying one's lunch menu choices. Good reasons to Twitter include to:

Use Twitter for Damage Control

When reputation matters, if you are lax to learn how to use Twitter you do so at your own peril. Be it a love rumor about a colleague or a negative product review, tweets will be the first to fan the flames.

Make Twitter an Emergency Preparedness Tool

From an early tornado sighting to a lost child, times when a fast, wide-spread announcement can save lives, Twitter can serve up the distress call. With mobile computers and smart phones, more eyes and ears are available instantly. Encourage community members to learn how to use Twitter accordingly.

Find Breaking News With Twitter for Journalists

Forget endless blog rummaging and RSS feed overdose. Set your Twitter to notify you as soon as word breaks on any person, place or thing of interest and sign up for your favorite news twitters.

Employ Twitter for Business

With attention spans drawing to a close, customers will rely on Twitter for one-sentence marketing and sales news, obtained via a single click. Can you imagine the word-of-mouth frenzy with a Black Friday Twitter feed?

Befriend Twitter With Your Family

When an emergency occurs, or a must-see TV program airs, you can simultaneously broadcast a message to everyone you know. Unlike the phone, tweets will grab the attention of every internet addict in your circle.

More on How to Use Twitter

Twitter becomes a power horse once you learn how to use Twitter tools --used for everything from adding video to audio to RSS feeds. After spending five minutes to learn how to use Twitter, focus on finding Twitter apps (see resources) to manage the information you wish to send and receive. If you were not impressed before, simply revisit the site, plan its purpose, find and follow others who matter, and give it time to work for you--as it likely will.