Twitter, few weeks of serious usage

It is addictive, it is educational and yes, it is quite different!
The overall momentum around Twitter and the related ecosystem seems to be exploding. There is a tidal wave of information in the internet. I will not even attempt to replicate it.

In my last Twitter post, I raised a few questions regarding how to use Twitter and its related features. Here, I will try to answer some of those and quickly share my experience.

1. Regarding ReTweets, I found TweetMeme and its ReTweet Button to be quite useful. It was simple and straightforward and it works. I could even add a button to my blog!

2. Over last few weeks, I have started following (and be followed) a few heavy weights. Tim O'Reilly and Mashable are a few to mention. It was truly eye opening! It was like having your ear to the ground of what is happening right now in the universe(at least in our planet) and also getting an expert commentary. Very nice! I have even started following President Obama, although he has not reached out to me. At least not yet!

3. To track trends, I found TweetStats simple and helpful. There are a slew of tools with all kinds of sophisticated features, but this one had enough for me to digest.

4. For those who have not figured out hashtags, I will request them to try out hashtags . As we learn how to research on our favorite topics using the tags, we will understand the difference between Google Search and Twitter Search. Someone truly pointed out that Twitter is a thoughtstream!

5. I am yet to discover the value and difference of direct messages.

6. I loaded up my desktop with Twirhl and TweetDeck. Both are powerful and rich applications based on Adobe AIR. But I still remain a loyal plain vanilla web client user. I have loaded my iPhone with TwitterFon.

Overall, I remain fascinated by Twitter and the eco-system. The level of enthusiasm (related products, tools and news) seem to be ever expanding. On the business front, two things are worth mentioning:

A. Dell Outlet passed $2M in sales using Twiiter channel: http://mashable.com/2009/06/11/delloutlet-two-million/

B. Comcast seems be using Twitter for customer support. Try #comcastcares and check for yourself.

At least for now, my Twitter expedition is on. I will come back and report more in two more weeks. Stay Tuned!

Best Regards, Somnath