For the longest time I would see this cute little bird hovering around different blogs but had no inkling as to why it was there and what purpose it served. I noticed different individuals on contest boards or blogs stating they tweeted on twitter about the giveaway and then gained an extra entry into the drawing pool. I decided I wanted to get to know this little bird better and find out why everyone was “tweeting” and what exactly a tweet consisted of.

I clicked on the little bird on one of the other Mom blogs and signed up to be a member on Twitter a little over a month ago. I began to check the place out and noticed that it reminded me of a sort of peer to peer instant messaging board. Individuals could promote their products, gain blog traffic by tweeting about their posts, or just chit chat about what ever they liked at the moment. It seemed pretty basic until I realized it was so much more!

What technically is Twitter?

Twitter is a social networking service that allows its members to send and receive other users updates which are known as Tweets. You can send a short message up to 140 characters in length to your friends or followers letting them know “What are you doing?”

Twitter Tools

There are several different Twitter tools and applications that can be used to make your Twitter experience more beneficial. I have found some that really come in handy when time is an issue. A few of my favorites are;

Your Twitter Karma

This is a flash application that breaks down all your friends and followers in a neat format. I have to admit I was a little hesitant at first to use Your Twitter Karma since you had to sign into the site giving your Twitter username and password but I have had no problems, as of yet. After signing in you click the “WHACK” button and it displays a list of all your friends and followers from Twitter. You then have the option to see all friends and followers, who is just following you, who is a mutual follow, or who you are just following. You can then either check individually, or check all to bulk follow or unfollow. I found this to be a great time saver. The next time you sign into Twitter it has been updated with any changes you made at Your Twitter Karma.

Twubble

Twubble looks at all your Twitter friends and then gives you a list of suggested Twitter users to follow. It does sometimes contain already individuals you are following but you have the option of asking to search more to find new Twitters you may want to follow. Great and fast way to expand your Twitter account.

Then there is Qwitter.

I have some mixed feelings of using Qwitter but if you really are curious as to who unfollowed you it is a perfect way of finding out. It sends you an email notification when ever your account loses a follower. It actually gives the members name and the last tweet you posted before the person unfollowed. Sometimes its just best not to know but if you must, you can use Qwitter.

Twitter Traits

During my use of Twitter I have already noticed some stereotypical traits of some users in Twitterland. I’m sure if you use Twitter long enough you will start to notice this yourself.

The Blog Snob Twitterer

This is the Twitterer that you follow from a possible blog and they don’t follow you back. Then you will notice during their updates they only talk to other well known high rated blog owners.

The Schizo Twitterer

This Twitterer likes to follow you and then when you follow back they quickly unfollow you. I’m not sure what the purpose for this action is yet.

The Tycoon Twitterer

Just look at how many followers they have which is usually way over the 20,000 mark. They tend to gain followers quickly and are usually in some marketing field.

The Jock Twitterer

The Twitter updates consist of fitness information and what they had for breakfast.

The Burn Out Twitterer

Remember the guy/gal in high school who skipped class to smoke a few cigarettes and down a few gulps from his pocket flask? This is that guy or girl.

The Strictly Business Twitterer

Their updates only consist of promoting their business or service.

The CelebrityTwitterer

WOW you can actually follow some celebrity members such as Britney Spears, Ashton Kutcher, and many others. They have 100,000+ followers and only follow a small few. You keep crossing your fingers they might follow you back! You can even follow President Obama!

The Green Twitterer

Updates are geared towards environmental awareness and green products.

The Wanna Be Popular Twitterer

This Twitterer don’t care what your updates are and will follow you to gain numbers in their Twitter account.

The Average Chit Chat Twitterer

Their updates consist of everything and anything.

The Sweepstakes Twitterer

They update only on contests and are primarily using Twitter to enter some sweeps.

I’m sure there are several other types of Twitterers out there I have forgot to mention but these are just a few that come to my immediate thoughts. All of them make up the diverse population of Twitter and make it a really fun an addicting place. My suggestions is to read a members updates before following them to spare yourself of some possible annoyance and offending language. Twitter can be used as an excellent marketing tool and a great way to connect if used responsibly. Tweet Tweet and have some fun!

Oh you might be thinking what kind of Twitterer am I? I guess you will just have to follow to find out!