Blogging Tips

Yesterday, Kevin announced the launch of Blogging Tips first WordPress plugin, Twitter User, which lets users integrate their Twitter username with their profile information in WordPress and display a link to their Twitter account in the footer of every post (or elsewhere in the template).

However, many, including those who currently use Twitter, have wondered just how useful the service really is. Though there is a lot being said by Twitter’s millions of users, it’s easy to wonder if any of it has any practical, business value.

So here are five practical things that you can do with Twitter, despite its 140-character limits. I’ve done all of these at one point or another and know well the potential for Twitter to be a boon to anyone’s site or their business.

5. Network

Networking is the most obvious use for Twitter. Using Twitter Search or a service such as Twitterfall, keep track of topics that interest you. Follow people who are discussing those issues and converse with them via @reply.

Twitter is a simple, effective way to find people who are interested in your field of choice and introduce yourself to them. Even with only a minimal amount of effort, one can easily grow their network by leaps and bounds over Twitter.

4. Public Speaking

Twitter blurs the lines between IM, chat and blogging by introducing elements of all three. As such it is possible to speak to a group of people using Twitter as the medium. Sites such as TweetChat make it easy to use the hashtag system to create impromptu chat rooms and groups, such as #indiechat, routinely have guest speakers (I was the speaker at their last meeting).

Though Twitter’s character limit makes it difficult to speak in a traditional sense, it does work well with a Q&A format. Also, one can use a service such as Twerbose to fit more into their tweets.

3. Find a Guest Blogger

If you need to fill a few holes in your posting schedule and you’ve got a network of people interested in your topic following you on Twitter, you can use that network to find guest bloggers to pick up the slack days.

I’ve found Twitter to be one of the easiest ways to recruit a guest blogger for your site, since it is easy to put out a call for help and instantly get replies. I’ve used this method at a few times (including once recently) with success.

2. Get Writing/Freelance Positions

On the other side of the coin, Twitter is rapidly becoming a very popular way for people to post job openings, especially short-term or one-off freelance writing gigs. If you follow a topic long enough, usually people will request some kind of service, such as Web design, blog setup, writing or more.

If this is a high priority for you, set up your Twitterfall or other twitter search service to track terms related to your job type and follow up on any potential clients. Even if there aren’t direct job offers, following up with people who have problems and needs can lead to one paying jobs down the road.

1. Monitor Your Field

The real beauty of Twitter has always been the immediacy of the medium. If a story breaks on Twitter, it is spread in a matter of minutes, not hours. It is by far the fastest and most reliable way to stay on top of your field.

Services like Twitterfall and apps lik Yahoo! Sideline can bring real-time Twitter searches to your computer, letting you know within seconds when a tweet of interest to you is put out on the network. Couple that with Twitter’s ability to send out links and you can find out about new stories hours or even days before reading them elsewhere.

This can provide a very real edge when applying your expertise, writing about the news on your site or just having bragging rights over your friends.

Bottom Line

Twitter can be a huge cesspool and a tremendous timesink, but if you dedicate yourself to it and approach it with the mindset that you are only going to use it for means that improve your business, it can be a very powerful tool as well.

In the end, you get out of Twitter what you put into it. If you approach it with a fun but pragmatic attitude, that is exactly what you’ll get back. If you treat it as a time waster, it will eat up your days with no real reward.

Obviously you don’t want to be someone that uses Twitter just for business, but it is perfectly acceptable to get some work done while having a little fun and being more personal. In fact, Twitter is surprisingly well-geared for just that.