Everyone lately has been asking, what is Twitter?  Well the answer is somewhat difficult to provide because it has so many different uses.

Twitter Explained

Here is the basic gist and the answer to the question; what is Twitter?  Twitter is a short message service or SMS where people from around the world type in explanations for what they are doing at the moment.  These messages are known as “tweets” and have to be 140 characters or less.  People can post funny tweets or anything about what they are doing.  Twitter also allows you the chance to read other people’s tweets.  You can do so by becoming a “follower” of friends, random people, or celebrities.  You can also send messages to people and edit your profile page by adding a photo and a short biography.

History

In 2006 the podcast company Odeo was having a board meeting but did not have any creative ideas.  So the people were put into groups to brainstorm some ideas.  One of the groups did just that and came up with a way to inform friends on what you were doing using SMS.  It was originally called Status.  The name was changed to Twitter after a namestorming session.  Jack Dorsey was the main creative mind behind the idea and began working on the site and posted the first message: “just setting up my twttr”.  It did not become extremely popular until the 2007 South by Southwest festival.  Giant monitors were constantly streaming tweets and daily usage tripled.  The festival created a lot of buzz for the new service and answered many people’s question of what is Twitter?

Personal Uses

Millions of people now have Twitter accounts and the number of users is growing all the time.  Most of these people enjoy being able to know what their friends and family members are doing.  People also get the chance to share interesting sites and funny things through their tweets.  Some people also use Twitter to get updates on their favorite bands or actors as many famous people use Twitter to keep their fans up to date.

Marketing Uses

Many companies wonder what is Twitter good for and how can they utilize this up-and-coming service.  The possibilities of Twitter as a marketing tool are endless.  Companies have been creating Twitter accounts lately to provide information on new products and services to customers.  These tweets can also provide a link, which can be a key element to get new customers to check out their website.  This is very useful to get people interested in their site as well as gain traffic.  Everyday, Twitter is becoming more mainstream.  The more popular this unique service gets, the more infiltrated it will become with companies spreading their marketing messages.