If you have a Twitter account and are eager to get more Twitter followers, then you’ve probably done a lot of searching for the perfection solution. Odds are that you’ve also come across some software that makes big promises when it comes to increasing your followers.

Let the Buyer Beware!

Before you take the plunge, however, and buy or download that software that promises to help you get free Twitter followers, you should be aware that most of these programs are against Twitter’s terms of service. This means that, if you’re caught, you run the risk of losing your account and your current followers.

Instead of taking this unnecessary risk, you need to instead follow my three strategies on how to get more twitter followers.

How I Got Started:

I didn’t always have the answers for how to increase Twitter followers. In fact, just a few years ago, in 2008, I didn’t really understand what Twitter was all about or how it could help me promote my brand and business. Now, I don’t know what I’d do without it.

This all started back in November of 2008 when I interviewed my friend Deborah Carney, an outsourced program manager for TeamLoxly.com. Deborah showed me the right way to use Twitter, and from that I developed my strategies. Now I want to share them with you!

I guarantee that no matter what you’re promoting, my strategies can work for you! They’ve worked for those selling bar stools, dental services, or a Joovy Caboose stroller, and other off the wall items. So, there’s absolutely no excuse not to put my strategies to work today!

Strategy 1: Syndicate an Online Newspaper

The first strategy I’d like to share with you involves syndicating an online newspaper. You create the paper based on a Twitter list, a user, or a keyword. Then, you set it to publish to your Twitter following each day.

I created my newspaper, The Guest Blogging Daily, using www.paper.li with my Twitter account and a Twitter list. My newspaper, which is viewable at http://paper.li/JamesMartell/1308523225 has brought me much success, and I know the same thing can happen for you!

I absolutely love paper.li for so many reasons. It features a lovely design, and using it is so easy. The process is completely automatic, meaning it posts directly to your Twitter following when each daily newspaper is released and then tweets your following.

Best of all, the contributing authors are automatically tweeted when each newspaper is published. A lot of these contributors will then start to follow you and, better yet, will retweet the newspaper to their own followers. Some of these individuals will also follow you as well!

Start your own paper.li newspaper today; don’t wait another second! Pick a topic your followers will find interesting, and get to work. Your paper can be up and running in just a few minutes, and you can start seeing results right away.

Strategy 2: Contribute Content

I think strategy 2 is actually a lot of fun, and it’s brought me lots of exposure and, most importantly, lots of new Twitter followers. To enact it, you simply become a guest writer for a site of your choosing. This site, like many others out there, is always willing to welcome guest writers.

Guest writing, also commonly known as guest blogging, presents you to a brand new audience. You’ll need to communicate well with your readers in order to gain their trust and devotion. Once you do, however, you should have no problem making them your brand new Twitter followers.

Simply invite your readers to follow you on Twitter in your author bio. Make the invitation enticing and personable; it will work! But you don’t have to take my word for it; start guest blogging today and see for yourself!

Strategy 3: Make Your Thank You Page Work for You

My final strategy is super easy and super effective! In fact, it’s so simple, you’ll wonder why you haven’t been doing it all along. I have my friend Joshua Sloan, the former Director of Online Marketing for the world’s largest and fastest growing hosting company, 1&1 Hosting, to thank for teaching it to me.

Simply set it up so that when a visitor uses your option form to receive your newsletter or contact you, they are automatically redirected to a Thank You page you’ve created.

The trick is to use this thank you page as a place to include an invitation to follow you on Twitter. Since the visitor obviously trusts you enough to give out their name and email address, it makes perfect sense to invite that person to follow you on Twitter!

Get Cracking!

So, there you have it – a surefire plan for gaining more followers! Remember, even if you’re promoting reclining lift chairs, a Bumbleride Indie twin, bar stools, or something else that’s totally off the wall, these strategies will work for you!

Free advertising sounds wonderful. Usually advertising comes at a cost. Finding a way to effortlessly gain more clicks for free is really good news.  :)

I discovered this method for generating more traffic that is easy and cost free. It was right there in front of me the whole time. I knew that banners bring a lot of attention to my site, but not every social media design allows this form of advertising. After some looking around, I found another easy way to have same pull of a banner that did work in almost every format.

Social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter, where typical banner advertising isn’t permitted does offer the use of thumbnails which can have the same traffic generating power.

The best news is this tool is inexpensive to create and is welcomed on most social sites. Thumbnails will promote your site every bit as effectively as banners do.

Versatile Tool For Facebook and Twitter

Using thumbnails on Facebook, Twitter, and other sites, the visibility comes from exposure after exposure. Blogs chat forums, and other social media sites encourage users to upload a thumbnail since it benefits their sites as well.

My guess is the reason that thumbnails don’t get the glory they ought is that most people don’t how efficient they can be in helping to generate immediate traffic to their site.

Grabbing Attention

The thumbnail is a smaller, and versatile version of banner ad. While posting through many types of social media such as posting on Facebook, or using Twitter your thumbnail works the same as a banner ad would in giving anyone who sees it a view of your message.

Thumbnails can be designed in different sizes and styles. Having a selection on hand for the various websites you post to which allow thumbnails is a very good idea. Common pixel sizes are 50×50, 80×80, 100×100, 170×170, or 200×200. 600×600 is the pixel size recommended for use on iTunes.

My wife Arlene created a remarkable website called EpilepsyMoms.com. She found out how well thumbnails could work in generating interest in her podcast by using professional and descriptive graphics.

Arlene had two sets created professionally at low cost. Along with some retouching of a photo a professional created thumbnail with her website address which is descriptive in what the site is about and one that generates interest her podcast.

Simple Ways to Generate Traffic

When working online easier methods for gaining exposure often work best and this is why the technique for promoting a product or service with a banner is very effective. It’s easy to use and can be re-used often. Thumbnails are just as functional and can bring that same exposure on sites where banners aren’t as welcome.

Using Facebook and Twitter to Boost Your Brand

Social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn business are a natural for introducing products and services to people through numerous exposures while posting online. This is the best sort of promotion is…free!

A well thought out and carefully designed thumbnail can even offer a attractive link back to your website from most social media sites. Using only a picture or non-descriptive name doesn’t necessarily convey the message you want, or give everyone viewing it the desire to click the link and go to your site. Having a professional create a graphic for you can gain attention quickly giving anyone viewing it a reason to want to know more about you.

Directing Attention to Your Site on Facebook and Twitter

For online retailers, affiliate marketers, promoters or anyone promoting their own business will find it’s convenient to have a set of banners in various sizes. The same is also a fact with thumbnails.

A carefully crafted banner draws attention and helps to generate interest in your brand, which can then increase click through rates to your site. The same kind of attention can be created through a carefully crafted thumbnail.

From chat rooms, to forum comments your thumbnail and almost anywhere you go online your thumbnail can represent your brand. No matter where you go online, this can work as a continuous draw for your site. Thumbnails have the opportunity to bring thousands to your site, because they have more applications in more places. These mini powerhouse banners are more versatile and adaptable.

Using polished, professional, and personable graphics for your thumbnail will get attention. Thinking of thumbnails you might have clicked on or followed back these probably carried an image that caught your attention, and made you interested in finding out more.

An Added Pull to Your Posts

The greater number of times you use these sites representing your site with a thumbnail the more clicks you will see. As you post a tweet on Twitter, or make a comment on someone else’s wall in Facebook a thumbnail is there, representing your site.

Most major blogs where you write, post, or even simply respond to a message, as a commenter encourage the use of thumbnails. A thumbnail singles you out among others so people will want to know more about you. Following your creative thumbnail link thousands will find their way to your site’s door.

4 Creating a Energetic Thumbnail Graphic

1. Use a Quality Photo

A photo doesn’t need to be a professionally taken picture to get the most important feature all photos need …a friendly smile. The background should be quiet and have plenty light. Any type of digital photo will work just as well as those taken by a professional camera.

2. A Pro to Help With Graphics

Hiring a professional graphics designer can offer you the best thumbnail graphics possible. Professionals will have software that can give your thumbnail graphics the look that best represents your promotion. A graphics pro can also retouch your photo to look its best. Arlene had several thumbnails made for her by a professional while working on her own website.

3. Simplify Text

The wording on the graphics should be short and descriptive. The name of the site and possibly word or two such as Arlene used works well. Her thumbnail has the name of her site and “Podcast” which conveys a clear, direct message.

4. One Style Works Best

Choose one look you like most. Changing too often confuses those viewing it often and they might not remember through you each new look. Keep details between your thumbnail and website, and brand as similar as possible.

Give It Drawing Power

You might think I’m making a big deal over something simple, but consider this – the saying that people judge a book by it’s cover is quite true, and your thumbnail is going to be the cover for every Twitter tweet, Facebook, forum thread, chat, and blog discussion. This adds up into thousands of images all working for your site or other promotion.

As Arlene worked on her site and wanted thumbnails created, she decided to use familiar source she used before with success. Since she had much of the work for her site done using a site, she quickly found a professional to work with her photo and a few simple words to convey her message.

As the mother of a child with epilepsy, she wanted to reach as many other mothers as possible who might be facing the same challenges making this site important to her. This was a job she had to keep on a budget, and the results were exactly what she wanted.

She also had a professional graphic designer create banner ads, header graphics, and a photo retoucher to work on her photo. Using these types of sites, a professional is not expensive, because there are many professional writers, technical pros, and others all competing for jobs. Easily negotiating with someone to handle any budgeted job from clerical to a computer expert is not difficult.

Gravatar – Your Secret Weapon

Not long ago I was wondering how to add my thumbnail to a comment I made on another site. I looked through the setting of the website and was unable to find where to upload my thumbnail.

After looking around and searching online I found that many major content management systems, blogging, and chat forums typically rely on Gravatar service to place thumbnails.

All I needed to do was sign-up for a free Gravatar account, then upload my thumbnail into their system, and give my own assigned email address.

Every time I post a forum comment and I use my email address in the field provided and my thumbnail automatically appears, without my having to do anything.

The Secret Is Yours

A professionally created thumbnail graphic can provide you with a constant stream of traffic to your website at no cost. With a little effort in getting your thumbnails created, you will be good to go.

Over to You

Will you change your thumbnail?

Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by Brian Rice.  Please read more about Brian in the bio footer.

Twitter provides an excellent channel for marketers as it is “a real-time information network powered by people from around the world” who are interested in discovery and communication.

Follow These Simple Steps to Build a Community on Twitter

1. Start with the Basics.

Your profile page is your first opportunity to build credibility.  It important to take full advantage of the elements that you can control such as the BIO section, profile picture, background imagery and link. Don’t underestimate the value of your Twitter page appearance – it should reflect your branding guidelines and personality.

2. Make the Commitment.

There is no quick way to build a targeted and loyal community.  In order to be successful, make it a planned activity and set aside time each day to spend 30 to 60 minutes on Twitter participating.

3. Know Your Target Audience.

It is essential to understand what content is relevant and useful to the individuals you would like to reach, you must take a content approach to growing your community.  Don’t simply make it a numbers game – “the who matters more than the how much”.

4. Have a Personality.

Remember, it is a community made up of people so include your personality in your tweets.

5. Provide Value

In my opinion, this is critical and requires you to listen to your audience and be an active “good citizen” in the community.  Don’t make it a one-way broadcast by only tweeting out promotional messages and avoid flooding your audience with updates.

6. Tweet Responsibly.

This should be a no-brainer but don’t share confidential information or use your account to stage attacks on your competition – always be respectful.

7. Be Present.

Don’t be a wallflower.  Respond, ReTweet and Interact.  Be sure to regularly acknowledge, highlight and thank those contributing members who continually add value to your community.

Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by Traci Hayner Vanover. Please see the bio in below to learn more about Traci.

You’ve decided to finally jump on the social media band wagon — congratulations. Before you go head out into the social media jungle and begin tweeting, Facebooking and YouTubing with reckless abandon, I urge you to take a moment and formulate a plan.

It can be particularly difficult to change our marketing “voice” from commercial to non-commercial. We are inundated with advertising messages everywhere, every day — and many users turn to these networks to escape brands altogether. Still others use social media to gain greater insights into brands before making a purchasing decision. They will listen to feedback from other consumers, compare you to the competition, and gauge your customer service. These factors are crucial, and should not be overlooked.

So, we know that our audience is always operating on the assumption that we are trying to sell them something — and a lot of the time, that’s true. Marketers do try to sell things online, even if it is during an online conversation that is not directly related to their products or services. Their persistence has made it difficult for other marketers to sell their products, even when they are deliberately ignoring the non-related conversations and targeting buyers that really are interested.

The mass marketing activities have poisoned the well, and it has made it even more difficult to penetrate social media’s marketing shield. But make no mistake, it still can be done.

There are hundreds of examples of brands succeeding through social media – Zappos, AirAsia and Whole Foods spring to mind – but replicating their success can be incredibly difficult. However, there is one thing that seems to separate social media’s major marketing players from the wannabes that have tried and failed.

It is the level of “marketing drive” behind them, and it appears to be inversely proportional to the amount of success that they find.

Huh? You read that correctly…I said inversely proportional. Counterintuitive, yes. But, highly effective, nonetheless.

Marketing drive is persistence. Persistent marketers always try to sell, no matter what the circumstance. “Looking for ice cream? Why not buy this humidifier too?” That’s their marketing style — it isn’t winning them any popularity contests, and it certainly isn’t bolstering their bottom line, either.

The Zappos school of thought is that rather than attempting to force a consumer into a sale, allow them to elect whether or not they wish to talk about buying. If folks aren’t talking about buying, Zappos isn’t jumping in with the subtlety of Kathy Griffin and trying to change the subject.

Social media communities are not averse to marketing; but social media users hate direct, pushy marketing with a passion. You’ll be about as welcome as spandex on Mr. Blackwell’s Best-Dressed List.

You’ll stand out, but not in a good way. Get the picture?

Add Value to Increase Success

Success in social media is relatively simple — add value. Let that guide your activities on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and the like. I may be interested in what you are selling, but I really don’t want to hear about it all the time. Just as offline marketers pick and choose which markets they’re targeting, online social media marketers need to take a step back and examine what opportunities are actually worth it. Once you’ve identified your target, join the conversation, but remember to be genuine, helpful, and interesting. In the end, this will win you respect and business.

People turn to Facebook and Twitter to communicate with each other, not with major brands and marketers. And while there is always going to be the one in one-thousand user that responds to direct marketing, the conversion rate for appropriate, targeted conversation will always much higher. When you enter social media determined to sell 10,000 units, you are destined to fail.

If you are already marketing with social media, now is the time to take a quick reference glance in the mirror. If you aren’t marketing like the successful big brands, you can still change course. Target your audience and provide them with genuine value and your efforts will be rewarded.

Leave the pushy sales tactics behind.

If your bloodshot eyes look at the clock and it occurs to you that you spent the last 6 hours killing off people on Mafia Wars or cultivating your farm in Farmville, you may wonder how productive that time was really spent.

So, when does spending time on social media websites become counterproductive?

To determine the answer to this question, you may have to ask yourself a few more questions. We will get to that in a minute.  First of all, I would like to take a  moment and clarify the term “Social Media” since it can come in many forms.

A general definition of social media: the social interactions or exchange of ideas and/or links with many people through Internet or web-based technologies. This can broken down further into different methods of broadcasting these exchanges. Below are a few examples.

• Blogs - There are many different types, but a blog generally is a website usually maintained by an individual with regular unedited posts, displayed in reverse chronologial order. 
• Examples: Blogger, WordPress, LiveJournal, TypePad

• Microblogs - These are different than blogs due to the small size of the comments; used for real time news updates, marketing, links, and short commentary.
• Examples: Twitter, Google Buzz, Tumblr, Plurk

• Social Networking – Used as a means to connect with family, friends or colleagues who share common interests and/or activities.
• Examples: Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Friendster, Bebo

• Social Bookmarking -Websites used to provide links to share; provide a place where users can share, organize, search, and manage their bookmarks of web resources
• Examples:  StumbleUpon, Delicious

• Social News – Similar to social bookmarking, but focused more on news stories and similar links.
• Examples:  Digg, Reddit, Mixx

An important concept in determining productivity is input versus output.  Is the input, or time spent, producing the output I desire. The first step is to think about your goal: WHY are you spending time on social media sites? May or may no be easy to answer, depending on how much psychoanalyzing you are up for.  Then, answer the following questions honestly.

• How much time are you spending on social media websites?

• Do you feel like you have had a productive day by getting on to these sites? 

• Are you neglecting “real” social interactions by spending time on social media sites?

• Are other life events (laundry, exercise, eating, housecleaning, bathing, paying bills, going to work) getting neglected?

• Is there a purpose or productive end goal by spending time on social media sites?

For this last question, you may have to analyze WHAT that end goal actually is. If it is to just waste time, you may want to readdress your goals in life.  For me, my end goal is to get more readers to my blog.  Spending 10 hours a day on social media sites may or may not be a productive use of time. 

Again, think about the whole “bang versus buck” idea. 

There are actually productive ways to participate in social media by being proactive and efficient.  If you find yourself spending three or four hours just “browsing” without interacting, this may be a waste of your time.

I think once you answer these simple questions, the answer to the first question will be pretty darn obvious.

This is off topic of my usual posts of inspiration. I am going out on a limb here, but, it is something that I feel needs to be talked about since Twitter is the new craze with all the celebrities getting accounts.

In the last few months, I have seen Twitter transform from a community where people can exchange ideas and support each others endeavors to a place akin to a popularity contest. When I first joined in December, there were not that many celebrities on the site. There were expert marketers, bloggers, non profit organizations, technical support, authors, motivational speakers, educators, philosophers, and health professionals.

While self-promotion is a part of being on Twitter, for the most part I always looked at Twitter as a place to build relationships, networks, and meet people in your field. The communication went both ways and it was a supportive environment. Many of these people are successful in their field and are willing to pass that on to others. These folks are still there. But, things have changed. Slightly.

Today the top people followed on Twitter are celebrities.

Recently, Ashton Kutcher promoted a race between himself and CNN Breaking News. He won. He is the first person on Twitter to reach 1 million followers. Is that so difficult for a celebrity to do? I am not against that goal. However, if the goal is only that and nothing else, what is the point besides winning a popularity contest? If you can reach 1 million people and attempt to change the world in a positive way and reach out to others, that is exceptional.

However, if a celebrity only follows a small, small handful of other celebrities, how is that ‘communicating’? Steve Buscemi follows 1 person! So, his Twitter page is pretty much his own Tweets! There are many other celebrities that follow a tiny amount of people and most of those are other famous people – promoting each other!

While I am not against Oprah and I understand she has done a lot of good in this world to help others. However, she already has a huge media following. Why does she have to come to Twitter and take away from what it really stands for? A place for unknowns to connect with others all over the world in a microblogging environment. It is not People Magazine.

I look at it as a small town having a block party. People trying to get to know each other and listen to the thoughts and ideas of others, learn about the important endeavors in their lives, and give some support to each other. Neighbors meeting other neighbors. What would happen if a few celebrities popped in the party and kept to themselves. Didn’t mingle. They wanted everyone to hear what they had to say, but not listen to what any of these small town neighbors had to say? How would the partygoers feel after the awe-struckness faded? Like their party was crashed and overpowered by celebrities! I thought Twitterville was a community, not celebrity promotion.

Have you looked at some of the celebrities Tweets?? Pretty mundane, a lot of self-promotion or promotion of other celebrities! That is not really using their power of media exposure to help others. If a non-celebrity person had those type of Tweets (“Just had scrambled eggs for breakfast” or “vote for me!”), NO ONE would follow them.

I am not anti-celebrity. I just think there are so many other forums-movie premieres, Hollywood, day time talk shows, late night television, the Red Carpet, E!, and other cable TV shows for the celebrities. What about the little people? How can they get noticed if constantly being overshadowed by celebrities? That place used to be Twitter.

I want to point out that there are a few celebrities on Twitter that actually are positively contributing to the Twitter atmosphere.

• Hugh Jackman (@RealHughJackman) creates Tweets that promote good causes like cancer awareness and other organizations like www.soldiersangels.org and www.starlight.org.au.

• Ex-supermodel Kathy Ireland (@KathyIreland) who no longer considers herself a celebrity and really is a mom who justs wants to reach out and help other moms. Kathy has conversations with many moms all over the world, everyday people looking for inspiration.

• Actress Mariel Hemingway (@MarielHemingway) communicates with 186 other Tweeters, many of them not celebrities.

• MC Hammer (@MCHammer) actually follows over 26,000 people and Tweets with them as well.

• BBC’s radio host, Jonathan Ross (@wossy) feels 3,375 people are worth following and building a relationship with.

• Shaquille O’Neal (@therealshaq) feels that there are some people that have something worthwhile listening to. Granted many are the “Girls_Gone_Wild” type, but he still has 488 people that he follows.

• Even Demi Moore (@MrsKutcher) is following 78 of her fans and posts some things of interest outside of herself and husband.

But, those are in the minority. I won’t get into the numbers of many of the other celebrity Twitters. Following less than .01% of your followers is like saying, “What I have to say is important, but I really don’t care what the rest of you have to say. I am just here to shine and gather followers.” News flash: Famous people are not the only people with great ideas. There are some amazing people I have met on Twitter who may be worth these celebrities taking the time to get to know. If not, my question to them really becomes, Why are you here??

If the celebrities are not communicating, but only broadcasting self-promotion and other celebrities, isn’t that just ‘US Weekly’? Is that what people signed up for? I didn’t. Maybe there should be a new website called “Celebrity Twitter” so all the celebrities can talk amongst themselves.

Twitter is becoming mainstream and that loses its appeal for a lot of people. Real people that want to talk to real people. I am not expecting Oprah or Ellen Degeneres to take the time to talk with each and every follower. But, is it asking too much from them to listen to even a few of their fans?

This is only the beginning. Soon, celebrities will start promoting advertising, movies, TV shows, and Twitter will become commercials and celebrity gossip. The bar on who to follow will be raised and the little guys will certainly get lost in the noise.

Is there anywhere the little guy can still go and get away from the celebrity madness? That place is no longer Twitter.

The blog mini-series, ‘The Five People You Meet in Cyberspace’, is coming to a close. There are only five in this series and I have reached number five. So far, you have seen that Felicia Williams really got the ball rolling for my new online writing career. I then refocused my blog based on tips from Darren Rowse, famous Problogger.

Later on, I was inspired by Zen Habits’ Leo Babauta and his editor, Mary Jaksch from Write to Done. This inspiration gave me the idea for a new blog with my own domain (inspiredtowrite) and a new look. The fourth person was Yan Susanto who’s blog, Thou Shall Blog, gave me an A-Z list of tips for beginners and corresponded with me personally to offer advice.

All the while I was modifying and tweaking my blog, I kept up (at a much slower pace) with my other writing on eHow, Suite 101, and Teaching Life. The keyboard became an extension of my fingers. My dreams and thoughts that kept me up at night were obsessed with the topic of writing.

Back in January, I started on this microblogging site called Twitter, which by now everyone should have heard of. I was familiar with the website at the time, but not really sure what a Tweet, a Twit, a TwitPic, or TwitWall was, so I signed up as JulieBMack. At first, I wasn’t sure what the point was or how I could use it in a productive way. I started watching and observing the Tweets that were getting attention. Slowly, I started getting followers. I wanted to inspire and help people, give them thoughtful and interesting things to read about. I am not good at self-promotion, but I occasionally threw a link to my blog or other writing in there. Shameless.

Then, around the beginning of March, right around the time I changed my blog name, I twent to twown. I started ReTweeting and balancing that out with inspirational quotes and interesting links. I watched my follower numbers increase at a higher rate. I became a Twitter addict.

I know the title of this series is the Five People you Meet, but…

How Twitter Influenced Me

After trying to decide on this last ‘person’ I realized that since I became an zealous user of Twitter, I have met so, so, so many great people. There really was no way to pick one of these Twitters. Therefore, I decided the Twittersphere would be number five. It is more like a place than a person, but it has influenced my writing either way.

Writing is about finding ideas, support, passion, inspiration, and sharing with others. Some say it is about making lots and lots of money. Earnings are nice, but not my motivation. With many of the people I have met on Twitter, I have found ideas, support, passion, inspiration, and the opportunity to share with others – in 140 characters or less (including spaces)! All in one central spot!

Twitter has opened doors and opened my eyes to all the good people who exist all over the world. These individual’s and group’s interests and motivation for Twittering is so diverse! Some are writers, but many are not. But, they are all just people that have something they want to share. What a great place to be.

What a great place to end this series. However, since the door has now been opened, there just may be a Part II. Thank you all for taking part and I hope you all find at least five people to inspire you in cyberspace!

The TwitWall is a spin-off of Twitter and I just discovered it today. I am not quite sure of its function yet, but I think for now, I will use it to add funny, inspirational, motivational, or quirky quotes of the day. The entry will automatically post to the Twitter site for others to read.

If anyone wants to access my TwitWall, feel free to read and comment. In the mean time, any feedback on ways to utilize this tool would be helpful. Have a great day!

Well, I finally joined Twitter. It is a communication tool to let everyone that “follows” you read your daily doings. It asks the simple question, “What are you doing?” and you reply with updates in 140 words or less.

People use Twitter in many different ways. Some people use it to talk about their day. For instance, “I am tired and going to bed now” or “I just stuffed myself with a pint of ice cream.” This reminds me a lot of Facebook. Others use Twitter to self-promote. You can self-promote your business, your freelance writings, or any tips you may have.

You can Twitter, or Twit, or Tweet, in two ways. You can send a private “Direct Message” or a “@username” reply which is a public message. The @username reply will register on their Home page as posts receive.

So, now I will be delving into another daily Web site that will take up more of my time. This year is getting busier already. Check out my Twitter site to see What I am Doing.