Note: Twitter account listings follow style used to reply on Twitter, @name.

By now you’ve probably heard of Twitter, micro-blogging and the new wave of online social marketing.

However, you might not be sure what it is, how it works or how to use it as an effective marketing tool for your business. Jumping into Twitter definitely takes time, even for technologists and avid bloggers, but many local businesses have taken the plunge and are effectively using Twitter for promotion.

Twitter is a micro-blog because it allows users to post short (140 characters) public messages (tweets) and follow other users’ tweets. Tweets can be posted and followed via twitter.com, RSS feeds, e-mail, third-party applications and SMS messages from mobile phones.

Twitter is a challenging medium for many. Most approach Twitter with concerns about making the private public. They wonder, why would anyone want to know what I am doing all day?

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Via Columbia Business Times