If you have never used Twitter, then I strongly suggest you do.. Like many people I was sceptical...”I already have a Facebook account why on earth would I want to use twitter?”... I opened my twitter account in 2009 and like many I tweeted little and lost interest quickly. It was only after starting this blog did I start to truly understand the value behind the worlds largest micro-blogging site. Now don't get me wrong you don't need to blog to reap the benefits of Twitter, it was just how it happened for me. Twitter started in 2006 and allows users to share text messages up to 140 characters in length to their friends and followers, the service currently has about 200 million active users worldwide and is at the forefront of the information age... So why should you use it? Well.... here are some of the benefits I have found;Meet new people Twitter is an excellent resource for connecting with new people that share similar interests, in fact this is the single most valuable thing in my opinion. OpinionsIf you ask an opinion about something on Twitter your likely to get an answer very quickly. The beauty of this is that these are the opinions of people who share similar interests to you, with in turn gives the answers more value than just doing a random google search. Its like your getting personalised user reviews from people who share your mindset.Quick informationOne thing that surprised me was the speed at which information travels on twitter, its blisteringly fast.Breaking NewsIts so easy to keep abreast of the latest news relating to your interests, let me tell you.. anything interesting will be on Twitter before anything else.EntertainmentThere are many funny people on twitter that are able to use 140 characters to keep you laughing all day long.Mass communicationYou can communicate with many people at once without the need for individual phone calls, this makes organising anything or participating in a conversation a breeze.Market yourself or brandTwitter can be used as a marketing tool as your able to reach a targeted audience very quickly.StalkingWhy not follow your favorite celebrity and hang on there every tweet, that reminds me its @ZooeyDeschanel's birthday today. Don't expect to be followed back or replied to, its generally one way traffic in this domain.There is so much more uses for the service that I haven't covered here, I suggest you give it a try. I will be posting a mini series on twitter in which I aim to cover things such as; How to build your network/followersTwitter etiquetteInteresting people to follow (If you feel you should be included let me know)Twitter Vs Facebook Don't forget to follow me @Carl_ballBest wishes
