Do you get your Twitter on?

I just read this article referring to how twitter has a low retention rates. Now I'm not sure if you use Twitter, but basically Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co-workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?

While some people don't like it or don't return, could be because they are not using it to its benefit. For example I see twitter as a platform to give your "elevator speech" in 140 characters or less. Basically get to the point and show me the value. (This 140 character idea would be nice in business meetings and probably save time. After a while business meetings can tend to go on about nothing). The three reasons I use tweeter is (1) value (2) entertainment and (3) a bit of hey what is he/she doing.

Now in order for me to get value from Twitter I need to be selective in who I follow and in return be selective in what I post. For example I follow googleatwork to keep up with Google technologies and MrBuzzFactor for new music marketing idea's. These are very useful to me and I view them daily. Any people I follow which I lose interest in, I simply stop following. It’s nothing against that individual, it’s just I get no value from their information. In addition to my twitter account twitter account (www.twitter.com/dirving_theaces) I use tweetworks which allowed me to create a group of followers. (www.tweetworks.com/groups/view/theaces) I can update a group in one single post.

Challenge yourself to be creative with Twitter. For example use it as a powerful marketing tool. Being I have a band, I can use twitpic to tweet backstage pictures or studio shots. I can use twitter for quick updates (e.g. Be the first to hear our new song. Let us know what you think.) Or you can get more advanced and integrate this with Google maps. Image your at a bar or show, you can tweet your location; your friends can see where you are and use Google maps to find you. You may even be at a great show, tweet a few pictures and comments, your friends see this, use the TweetMapper application and are able to meet you at the show. There are endless possibilities so be creating and use twitter to empower you.