Assuming that I was able to convince you on setting up a twitter account, you probably may be actively using Twitter. You’re probably also following many other Twitter users, being followed and putting some of the justifications for Twitter usage from last month’s post to full use. So whats next? How can you continue to use Twitter to its full potential? Well this post will seek to answer these questions by providing a variety of tips to make anyone a Twitter guru.

Practice Twitter etiquette

There are various guidelines that help to make using Twitter a fun experience. Some of these include:

• Use of the @ sign in front of a Twitter user’s name when directing a reply to them. Also, realize when a conversation requires the use of the direct message (DM) feature as sometimes everyone may not want to read certain replies.
• Do not send repeated messages to people. Also, constantly using the direct message (DM) feature and sending links may cause users to think you are a spammer. They could likely unfollow you or worse report you for abuse.
• Do thank users for retweeting or following you. It’s a great conversation starter and may go a long way.
• Yes, Twitter is a public medium and not a medium to vent. Therefore, everyone may read what you wrote at some point.

Integrate Twitter with other mediums

Many of us have other social networking accounts particularly with Facebook and Myspace. There are tools available to link your twitter account with these social networks. Myspace has a status sync tool that allows for Myspace updates to be shown in Twitter. Similarly, Facebook has a twitter application that performs status updates to Twitter.

Use a Desktop client

Although Twitter usage via the web may be sufficient, desktop clients help to unleash features that make Twitter usage more efficient. Some of my recommended Desktop clients include:

• Tweetdeck
• Seesmic Desktop / Seesmic Look
• twhirl

Use a Mobile client

One may opt to have access to Twitter on a mobile device which is possible through any web-enabled mobile device including Blackberry, iPhone and Android. Additionally, mobile clients are available should one prefer not using a mobile web browser. Many recent mobile devices now have Twitter mobile clients pre-installed. However, one can easily download ÜberTwitter, Twidroid or Twitterific to name a few.

Now I’d love to hear about your Twitter experiences. Feel free to share and continue to enjoy Tweeting.

Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service. It lets one send and read other person’s updates, known as tweets, that are limited to 140 characters in length. The term micro-blogging is derived from the limit that is placed on the number of characters one can type for an update.

Now that we all are somewhat familiar with the Twitter service, we can now focus on the some of the benefits of such a service. Once utilized to its fullest potential, Twitter can prove to be an extremely rewarding service.

Twitter for the Business Owner

Keep clients updated on company news, announcements, service updates and even promotions. Some  companies who actively utilize twitter for this purpose include:

1. CNN – CNN  keeps their followers up-to-date with the latest local, regional and international news
2. JetBlue Airways – JetBlue provides their followers with the latest updates on in-flight services, new travel routes, fare sales and even answer questions regarding their travel services.
3. TrackThis – TrackThis provides their followers the ability to track any packages sent through mailers such as UPS, FEDEX and USPS.

Twitter for the Enthusiast

Easily meet and network with others who have the same common interests on Twitter. Imagine being an aspiring music producer or freelance writer for example. By meeting other persons in your field of interest, through interaction and knowledge-sharing, the results can surely prove rewarding. It is not uncommon to hear of success stories that have humble beginnings because of Twitter.

Twitter for Everyone

Thats correct. Twitter can cater to not only the business owner or enthusiast. Here are some activities that one can engage in using Twitter:

1. Use twitter to keep up on traffic jams with commuterfeed
2. Have twitter alert you when you have a meeting with  timer
3. Get and fill current job openings with tweetajob

As we can see it is definitely a rewarding experience to join the Twitter service. If you do not have a twitter account as yet go to twitter.com and signup. And yes, you can follow us on twitter when you do join.

Stay Tuned for Part 2 coming soon