I confess, I’m a tweep. I’m a member of one of the fastest growing populations on the Internet: people who use Twitter.com, the micro-blogging web site used for real-time communications with those I am following and those who are following me.
Fellow tweeps follow me @MichelleDamico. How do I know? They sent me a “follow” notice after I post an item on Twitter that interests them. Or, they learn of our common bonds through my Twitter profile.
The Twitterverse is long and deep. I offered a column idea to New York Times technology reporter David Pogue. I connected with entrepreneurs in Sydney and Dublin as well as Chicago journalists Eric Zorn and Lynn Sweet.
It was tweeps who witnessed the US Air jet land in the Hudson River and broke the story long before the major news organizations!
As business people debate Twitter’s value as a business tool, I already know what side I’m on. There’s value in connecting with like-minded professionals who are willing to give advice or want to RT (retweet or forward) observations to their networks of followers. I can DM (direct message or privately reply) to people who have given me suggestions.
Is anybody making money on Twitter directly? Probably not yet. But my thinking is it won’t be long. Check out marketing guru and popular Tweet Chris Brogan’s 50 Ideas for Using Twitter for Business and get your entrepreneurial juices flowing.
–Michelle Damico
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