Tweet tweet (Twitter.com)

Member Name: emmaglet

Product:	Twitter.com
Date:	22/02/09 (73 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy to use, follow celebs

Disadvantages: Limit of characters, promotional use

Chances are that you've heard of Twitter, or perhaps you've even had a look at Twitter and just been confused so decided to move on. So what is Twitter? It is a micro-blogging platform in which you "blog" about what you are doing, but in just 140 characters. It can act as a social network, a promotional tool or just a way to see what your favourite celebrities are up to.

Twitter is easy to use, once you have signed up you can start updating straight away. You can update using your web browser, twitter applications, text, mobile internet and much more. An update is called a "tweet". Once you have tweeted, it will come up on your followers' home page. This enables others to see what you've written. This isn't private though, you have to change settings if you don't want the world to see your tweets, so if you are using your real name when signing up, PLEASE remember that this can be Googled and your tweets can be seen.

You can follow a variety of people, from your own friends to celebrities. You can also reply to people or even send private messages using Direct Messaging.

Some celebs worth mentioning on Twitter:
Stephen Fry - updates all the time, but I find his tweets really boring, mostly about working, getting annoyed at people or how far he has walked that day.
Chris Moyles - fairly new to Twitter, and by his own confession he doesn't know how long he will last on Twitter.
Mc Hammer - chances are that he will follow you once you have followed him. Kinda cool knowing a celeb is reading my tweets.
Britney Spears - admittedly it isn't always updated by Brit, but it is great to see what she is up to.
Lily Allen - mostly having fights with Perez Hilton. Get in on the action!

Some downsides to Twitter, as I mentioned above, it being searchable from Google. Another downside is the 140 character limit, although if you have more to say then you could just make another update! You will probably find a lot of companies and bands following you, which is an attempt to promote themselves.

Having over 400 tweets now I am still iffy as to whether I enjoy Twitter. I feel it is great when I want people to know random things that aren't quite suitable for Facebook. Having a platform that I can update anywhere and anyhow is fantastic, and I think it may stick around.

If anyone is interested then I am @emmaglet.

Summary: Tweet