Tweet treats

So I've made a few references to Twitter lately, you may have noticed a Twitter Updates section in my sidebar, and if I email you, you'll note the "follow me on Twitter" line in my signature.  What the heck is Twitter, might you ask?  Total time drain or social media at its best?  I admit, it may be a little bit of both...but I still love it!

I read somewhere that Twitter is a "micro-blogging" tool, and with the 140 character limit for each "tweet" update learning the value of being short & sweet (and using TinyURL to shorten web links) is essential.  I've only been on Twitter since July 29, but I've got a group that I follow -- some are the bloggers I already viewed regularly, others are new to me since Twittering and that is so great.  I also have a list of people that follow me, and with the exception of a few spamming fools, it's really been a great way to get quick advice or share triumphs or challenges in real time.

As a blogger, there are lots of things I want to post about...but sometimes life gets in the way and I just don't have the time, energy or inclination to follow through on each great idea.  But with Twitter, I can share a link easily and quickly without needing to give context really.  I can post little snippets of my life that may not make it to the blog because maybe it just didn't feel like it was enough to add in Blogger.  So for that, I find Twitter a useful tool.

One of the BEST things I have enjoyed about Twitter is the fairly direct link to other people and how that translates into more exposure for my own little Kids Meal Crowd blog.  Win-win in my book.  If you have found Kids Meal Crowd from Twitter, I'd love to hear about it -- please post a comment.  

A few of my favorite posts about Twitter or treats I found via Twitter are listed below.  Enjoy!

• Great MomAdvice post by Amy -- "What is the world is Twitter?" that was one of the reasons I signed up in July -- excellent starting point, with links to other resources as well.
• "10 awesome tools that will make you an expert Twitter user" post at Dumb Little Man Tips for Life lists several related things I now use to help make using twitter even better for me.
• A cool parent hack that reminded me that twitter archives are not forever and if I was using it as a way to catch snippets of my family's life, I should back up my tweets.  Easy-peasy with the auto sync of twitter with a Tumblr blog.  Done and done.
• Awesome post, including many many links to more resources and related twitter-phanalia, from Penelope at Our Fourpence Worth.
  
• I even dragged Cathy from the CFO Blog into the Twitter family!
• Found this little gem via Twitter:  8 reasons to Twitter from the aptly named Eight Reasons blog. 
• And here's a great example of how twitter can increase your potential audience...the wonderful Kelby Carr decided that because she was getting so many hits lately, it would be a great time for a link round up to share the love and roaming eyes.  She put out a tweet asking for links, and she included mine in the bunch.  Thanks Kelby!  I didn't know of the Type-A Mom yet before twitter; and I'm pretty sure she never would have known out me either.  Twitter can be a tool to lessen the divide between relative newbies like me and old pros like Kelby (and so many more!)

Are you on Twitter?  I'd love to follow you too.  I love thinking about new ways in which to define "community", and I have found twitter to be a way to explore this a bit more.