A year ago, the answer would have been "probably not."
Today, the answer is, "possibly."
A year from now, the answer will be "absolutely!"
On October 27, the Wall Street Journal ran a lengthy article about Twitter, which is a good indication that this mysterious social network is going mainstream.
Although Twitter's instant messages are limited to 140 characters, the ways people are using Twitter seem to be unlimited. The important thing right now, from a business perspective, is that people are using it - more than 1 million people by most estimates.Would you believe that more than 110,000 folks are following Barack Obama on Twitter? (A paltry 2,000 follow John McCain.) And, as cell phone technology advances, mobile Tweeting is certain to increase Twitter usage enormously, for business, news gathering, idea exchange, and yes, mindless chatter.
Twitter is still very much experimental, a work in process with companies trying it out in various ways. Zappos, the mega shoe e-tailer, uses Twitter extensively - for intra-company communication, to announce promotions, and much more. Zappos even boasts a CEO page with more than 16,000 followers. Businesses can communicate via Twitter for a multitude of purposes -
To announce sales promotions and new products
To report company news
To provide customer support
To ask for feedback and ideas
To join conversations on relevant topics and find new customers
To coordinate logistics at events and conventions
To communicate with stakeholders and the public at large
To monitor conversations about the company and the competition
Twitter has the potential for making corporations more "human", more responsive, and more tuned in to changes in the marketplace. And given the low cash outlay to particpate in Twitter (zero), current conditions point to more users, more experimentation, and ultimately, great results.
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