I’ve been using Twitter for a couple of months now and have come to the conclusion that Twitter is a digital, internet age version of the office water cooler but way more powerful.

What is Twitter

Twitter is basically a “micro-blog” platform designed to offer it’s users a quick and easy way to enter short, timely messages (140 characters or less) to describe what they’re doing, feeling and/or thinking about. Think of it as a digital water cooler for the Internet generation. You also have full privacy controls regarding who sees your Twitter profile and who can read your entries. The beauty of Twitter is its simplicity. If you can email, you can use Twitter. Far beyond the fun aspects of Twitter, there are some key reasons why I use it and why I think you need to especially if you have a blog and are interested in driving traffic.

A Great Promotional Tool

If you look in the right hand column of my blog, you will notice the flash based Twitter badge. You will also notice I utilize my Twitter feed to inform my Twitter followers when I publish new blog posts. This is a handy little widget available from Twitter you can use to embed a flash based feed on your blog that automatically displays your latest “Tweets” (Twitter speak for entries you make on Twitter.) To sign up for your own account, you can click on my Twitter badge which will take you to my Twitter home page. From there, you can access a link to sign up for your own account. I also invite you to follow me on Twitter once you’ve signed up. The key here is getting people to follow you. The more followers you have, the bigger the promotional impact you will get and, in turn, drive more traffic to your posts and blog. This also tends to have a cumulative affect and build on itself as you increase your network of followers. You will notice that people will discover you through other people already following your feed and will be more likely to follow you thus increasing the number of people following you. I hope that didn’t sound too confusing, but I think you know what I mean.

A Great Learning Tool

Another reason I’ve become quite fond of Twitter is the interesting things I learn everyday from the people I follow. Take a look at my profile and you will notice quite a few high profile people from all walks of life that I follow. I am constantly amazed, entertained and educated from the Twitter tidbits I read on a daily basis. I’ve also found that a few of these high profile “Twitterers” automatically follow you when you follow them. At first blush, you maybe thinking how does this benefit me? Well, if your able to get a few of the more popular Twitter users to follow you, your profile becomes visible to all of their followers. This increases your chances that more Twitter users will see your profile and follow you. See where I’m going with this?

Your Personal Brand

When you sign up for your Twitter account, selecting you Twitter handle will be the first important decision you’ll need to make. Much like selecting the right domain name, your Twitter handle is closely linked to your online identity. Many people who publish blogs use their blog name as their handle. While that is a good idea and certainly is an effective way to link your blog brand with your Twitter feed and keep your promotional activities consistent, may I suggest you register your full name as a second Twitter account. This is especially important for those users who already publish a successful blog and want to protect their online brand. Even if you are just starting out, go claim your name just like you would when purchasing domain names. By doing this, you will retain control over your name online and prevent someone else from masquerading as you.

What does everyone think? I invite your comments.