Twittering can be done from your cell phone, laptop, PC, or netbook. All it involves is sending messages that top out at 140 characters.
It's a simple act that has captured the online world's attention. During March alone, 19 million people visited the Twitter website.
A recent Ottawa workshop on Twitter and the LinkedIn networking website heard from participants that "you're not cool if you're not using it" and "it's the most immediate, real way to communicate of any of the social media."
Registering with Twitter allows you to send messages, or "tweets." You also decide which users to follow in return. A search engine allows users to find people talking about just about everything under the sun.
"We have barely just scratched the surface of what might be done," says Scott Lake of thinkSM.com, who constantly monitors Twitter as part of his work consulting business clients on new media.
"It's quite possible that in a few years there will be other tools besides Twitter. It's a great way to find information on anything you want, to talk to anyone you want."
But Kelly Rusk of Ottawa also makes her living through about social networks, helped explain why 60 per cent of Twitter users drop out after less than one month.
"When you first get on you're not sure what you're supposed to be doing and how it works," Rusk says. "It probably took me three months to really get into it, and now it's just in my blood."
A recent online CNN poll found that 89 per cent of respondents were getting tired of hearing about social networking. Another British study found that 10 per cent of Twitter users were responsible for 90 per cent of all content and traffic.
Ottawa has about 4,000 Twitter users. Topping the list is Rob, who has 35,000 people following his blogging support site. Up next is Prime Minister Stephen Harper, with 13,000 faithful followers.
