Do you twitter? Are you looking at your screen right now wondering what the heck a twitter is? Twitter fits among the other Social Networking or Web 2.0 sites that are everywhere such as Facebook and MySpace, but it is in a class by itself as a microblog. It allows you to send and read other user’s updates in real time. The microblog term comes from the length of the text you are able to use – which is 140 characters.

Since Twitter hit the internet, there have been hundreds of useful and neat applications that you can utilize alongside of this service. Here are a few of my personal favourite tools:

Twitter Feed allows you to feed your blog posts into your twitter account. This is great for anyone who has a business blog who wants to kill two birds with one stone.

Tweet Scan allows you to search for keywords online

ReTweet – This is a great application. Follow the link to the instructions on how to set up your Twitter account as a reminder service.

Summize: It’s wonderful to see what your friend is up to, or get the latest update on the business you use. But what if you wanted to know where you could find peoples thoughts on a particular topic? Summize is for you! Click on the link and type in a subject. See who has been twittering about it.
Twurl: Tweetburner allows you to create TWURLS! Enter in any URL that you’d like to share on your block and click the button. It will give you a TWURL that you can keep track of your personal stats on how many people have clicked your links!
TweetAhead – Sometimes, you know you won’t be near a phone or a computer but you just HAVE to twitter! Use TweetAhead to schedule an update for while your gone!
Have you ever wondered if there are people in your area using Twitter? You know I have the program for you! Check out TwitterLocal and find those that are closest to you.

I can’t possibly list all of the tools and applications that you may find useful, but this site does. In fact, they have 275 ways to make your twittering more fun.

If you have a business (or anything else you want to promote), I have some great tips on using Twitter to build your business.

1. Don’t spend all your time talking about yourself and your business. Utilizing Twitter (and any social networking site) only works well when you use it to start by building relationships.

2. Build interest in your business website by asking questions of other Tweeters. Ask for feedback on a new idea for your site, a new product, or even the layout of the site.

3. Use Twitter to monitor your competition. Perhaps they are working on, or launching, a new product or service.

4. Use it to monitor and find new trends. You can do this by following the right people (your target market). Watching and reading these conversations will surely point you in the right direction!

Happy Tweeting!