How would you explain Twitter to someone who only comprehends it in terms of Why Does Anyone Want To Know What I’m Eating For Dinner? The simplest breakdown I thought of was to describe Twitter as walking into a humongous, crowded conference hall with the ability to pop in and out of any conversation you felt like. You can talk (well, @) to your favorite celebrities, and pretty much participate in any conversation from Art to Zen. And for anyone who still doubts the value of Twitter, one only needs to Google “Twitter and Hudson River” to quickly access the Tweet that changed everything.

Even the brains behind the program themselves quickly realized Twitter’s evolving use and the prompt “What are you doing” was soon replaced by the more resourceful “What’s happening?”

What IS happening is that Twitter is now as important a tool for individuals as for businesses (which we chatted about in our inaugural post). Which makes the question not whether you are using it, but are you exploiting Twitter’s full potential.
• Catch breaking news as it happens, both on local and national levels
• To network with people in your industry. Talk to Alex Bogusky!
• To network by “attending” industry events. By searching for or following various hashtags (#) you can follow conversation being shared at virtual and real-live events!
• To receive exclusive offers and advance notice of sales from your favorite national retailers and many local businesses
• Job hunting, hello! Connect with headhunters and places you’d like to work!
• When all else fails, you can certainly always follow your favorite celebrity. Shaq often gives shout-outs to fans and has even offered up free game tickets!

If the Dalai Lama is doing it, why shouldn’t you?

Did we miss any exciting ways that you’re using Twitter to enhance your life? And would you like to see a future post about how or what you should be Tweeting to grow your audience of followers?