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Plan to devote approximately 3-6 hours each week to complete their course work. Part of your homework will be interacting with Twitter. Twitter can be addicting, so your time devoted to this course will vary according to how much time you spend on the Twitter stream.
Twitter is all the rage these days but I must admit that I was slow to warm up to it. My initial understanding of Twitter was that it was a mobile phone application that young people used to keep up with their friends. Even as its popularity exploded, I was skeptical. It seemed too egotistical and too personal to me. I really didn't want the public to know what I was doing all of the time. I am a pretty private person. Over a year ago, friends and trusted colleagues encouraged me to give it a try so I did. My first week, I used Twitter a lot during a conference that I was attending. Then, it sat dormant for three months. It wasn't until I sat down and really looked at the features of Twitter and came up with some ideas on how it could help me with my specific needs that Twitter started to make some sense. Now it is an invaluable tool in my business and personal life that I use regularly, if not daily. On Sitepoint, Brendon Sinclair talked about his own reluctance to embrace Twitter as he states "who cares if I had a cheese sandwich for lunch?" Brendon postulates that it is the sometimes the insignificant communication between people, that over time, build relationships. He calls Twitter "-- a relationship builder, a brand builder, a communication tool, and much more". Twitter defines itself as: "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?" Twitter allows people to communicate what they are doing via the web and SMS text messaging. Twitter has two primary functions in fulfilling its role as relationship builder and promotion tool: micro-blogging and a social networking. Micro-blogging Micro-blogging refers to blogging via short text updates, usually 140 characters or less. This definition has been expanded to include micro-media. Now micro-blogging can encompass photos, as well as video and audio clips. Micro-blogging is used for both personal and business communication. In comparison to standard blogging, micro-blogging posts tend to be more time sensitive, and are very effective at disseminating news and updates. The size restriction of micro blogging forces you to really focus your message. For many of you this size restriction will ensure that micro-blogging will never take the place of your regular blog posts, but that doesn't mean that you should ignore the possibilities of micro-blogging as a tool for your regular blog. Even if you posts are usually over 500 words, not characters, you can still use micro-blogging to promote your blog, interact with your readers, interact with the movers and shakers in your field of interest and stay informed. Social Networking Twitter is becoming an important tool in one's social networking arsenal. It is far from the perfect tool, but it does have some useful features. Twitter has some of the classic features of a social network with its own twists.
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