By Gina  Blitstein

Twitter is a social networking website that enables people to chat with each other in 140-character messages. When you sign up to use Twitter, you complete a profile in which you describe your fields of interest. You can highlight whatever you want in your profile, including your passions and hobbies, family and personal information, career/business or some or all of those components. Other users do the same; this information is the means by which people find others to follow and chat with on Twitter. This process creates your Twitter network which includes those who follow you and those whom you follow. Those who follow you on Twitter will receive your messages in their Twitter stream, enabling them to read the messages you submit - you will receive the messages of those you follow in yours.

As a Twitter user, you chat with your followers, posting updates about those areas of your life that you wish to discuss and your followers will Tweet back to you. Some use Twitter as a way to communicate with friends and family. Others use Twitter to network with people in their industry and potential clients. While Twitter is a great means to keep in touch with both these groups, let's explore using Twitter to your business' advantage.

Twitter offers networking opportunities over and above single-person interactions. It can help you discover and access b entire groups of people with whom to discuss your business and offerings. In addition to one-on-one Tweeting, Twitter offers a feature called a "Twitter Chat" which is a specialized functionality enabling a group to come together at a specified time to Tweet with each other on a specific topic. What is a Twitter Chat? According to Shonali Burke, ABC (accredited business communicator), Principal, Shonali Burke Consulting and one of TopRank's 25 Women That Rock Social Media, explains, "Twitter chats are simply that: chats or conversations that use Twitter as the medium." Don't think that because Twitter utilized an electronic medium that everyone is talking about technology. There are hundreds of Twitter Chats available on a wide variety of subjects. There are lists available on the Internet of the various chats, however, the best way to find one of interest to you is to keep your eyes pealed for mentions of these chats among those you follow. You can tell a chat by the way that it is referenced: Chats are abbreviated and are always preceeded with a hashtag (#). For example, a chat may look like this: "#biztalk" on Twitter.

How do you participate in a Twitter Chat? From your Twitter dashboard, you can create a search for the chat you want to join. This search will filter only messages which include the chat's hashtag, so your Twitter stream will include all participants who are using that hashtag. You simply join in by adding the hashtag to your questions or responses. There are also specialized websites, such as, TweetChat.com, which make Twitter Chats particularly easy to participate in by providing a "chatroom" exclusively for the specific Twitter Chat you are following. Participants of a chat all add the chat's hashtag to each of their Tweets. When you participate in a Twitter Chat using a service such as TweetChat, you sign in to that chat, so your hashtag is automatically added to your Tweets.

Twitter Chats are moderated by the person or persons who first implemented them, or their invited guests. Usually they are experts in the field upon which the chat is based and are therefore taking full advantage of the medium to share and gain knowledge with an interested community. Chats have a leader who introduces the subject of the chat, explains the ground rules and leads the group through the chat, usually by contributing questions on which the group comments. Twitter Chats generally last an hour, or maybe two; they usually are scheduled once or twice monthly.

Shonali says that she has learned a lot from the chat she herself started. She reports, "I've found #measurePR a great way to continue to educate myself about PR measurement, an area I'm fascinated by - and that helps me impart learnings and best practices to my clients. There are a ton of smart people who participate in the chat, and I love being able to learn something new from them. The chat has also started leading to new business inquiries and speaking opportunities around the field of measurement; the benefit of the former is clear, and the latter has been a great business development tool for me as well." She adds, "I'd hope my followers would say that our chat brings them into contact with new thoughts and people that enrich their professional development and exposes them to a wider range of thought leaders than they might otherwise be exposed to."

Twitter Chats are an effective use of chat technology to get you and your business noticed by a group of interested people. They provide you with the opportunity to brand yourself as an expert in your field, which is a powerful way to make an impact and promote your business. Twitter Chats can lead to contacts within your industry and increase your business' exposure to an interested audience.

Is there a Twitter Chat that can benefit you and your business?

By Gina Blitstein

The Internet allows us to connect not only with friends and family but with virtual strangers who share our interests. Social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter span the miles between people, allowing us to be in live contact with people around the globe. Such chats make it convenient for us to easily communicate any time of the day, from virtually anywhere. It's fun to keep in touch with people on these sites but are you aware that social networking sites are also frequently used to promote business? Is there value for your business to be found on these social networking sites? Let's explore how Twitter in particular may help you forge valuable relationships and market your business right from your computer.

Why is Twitter a good medium for interactions? Shonali Burke, ABC (accredited business communicator), Principal, Shonali Burke Consulting and one of TopRank's 25 Women That Rock Social Media, says, "I think Twitter's a great medium for chatting for the same reason it's taken the world by storm; it's easy, instant and with a single click you can be exposed to an amazing breadth of people and opinions. You don't have to be a geek to "get" Twitter, nor do you have to be anti-social; in fact, the people I enjoy interacting with the most are those who are extremely social and sociable. They know how to converse with people offline as well as online, and Twitter is the perfect platform for quickie conversations."

The best marketing is based on concise communication; that's what makes Twitter an ideal tool for the job. Twitter works by establishing yourself as a member of the community, which means first choosing an unique name (or handle) for yourself. Once you have chosen your handle, that will become your moniker on Twitter, preceded by the @ sign. So your Twitter name would look like this: @myhandle. Every time that name is Tweeted, it will be in reference only to you. The next step is to complete a profile describing yourself, your interests and your business. After letting others know about you in your profile, choose people to follow based upon their profile information. You can search for keywords that will help you identify people with similar interests or who are in your industry. Those people you follow are added to your Twitter stream and you can see their comments or, "Tweets," on your Twitter dashboard. Others will find you based upon your member profile and follow you - thus they become your followers and will see your comments in their Twitter stream.

Choosing whom to follow on Twitter depends upon your reason for joining and how you want to spend your Twitter time. Personal Twitter users utilize the medium as a form of personal communication. Some business users use Twitter strictly as a means to discuss and receive feedback on the products and/or services they offer. Still others combine both personas, Tweeting a mix of personal and business information. The style you choose will depend upon your goals and how much "personality" you wish to incorporate into your message. Communication on Twitter takes place within the specialized community you created which includes you, those you follow and those who follow you, centered around a shared interest in you, your business or both.

You use Twitter by typing a short, 140-character message into a status box in response to the question, "What's Happening?" When using Twitter for the purpose of promoting your business, send frequent messages to your followers, updating them on your progress on a project, launch of a new offering or status of a related issue. Share your successes and challenges. A popular practice is posting links to web content that you believe will be of interest to your readers. The point of Twitter is to be a resource for your followers, and they for you. What constitutes frequent updates? It is up to you to find a frequency that keeps you involved with and active among your followers without becoming a nuisance. As a general guideline, 3-5 quality Tweets per day will suffice.

In response to a Tweet, the reader can choose to read and move on. If you are truly inspired by another person's Tweet, however, you can "retweet" it, which is to say that you can re-post the tweet yourself, which is attributed to the original Tweeter. This is a way to share a helpful Tweet with those who follow your Twitter stream. Another way to respond to a specific Tweet is to reply to it. This will send a Tweet from you into the Twitter stream of the person who originally sent it. Replying to a Tweet creates a two-way conversation which is more satisfying than simply broadcasting your message.

Twitter users have developed a specialized "language" which serves as shorthand for commonly used words and phrases. With only 140 characters in a Tweet, you can surely understand why this would help people to say more with less. When you first jump into the Twitter stream, don't let the jargon intimidate you. It's a friendly community and folks will explain if you ask. You will also pick up the nuances yourself with experience. One of the greatest things about Twitter is that you really can't do it wrong - be genuine and say things in your own voice. People respond to sincerity and passion.

Twitter is an effective way to leverage the power and scope of social media to promote your business, products and/or services to a worldwide, interested community. It represents a new way to spread the word about your business, in your own words, on your own schedule and in your individual way. It's free, marketing-friendly technology waiting for your participation.

Do you use Twitter to market your business and expand your client base?

Edited: 05/30/2010 at 04:40 PM by Gina

By Gina Blitstein

At the end of a long day at work, many people head home to what they hope is a happy relationship. Our marriages are the loving, nurturing escapes from the "real world." We want our spouse to be a trusted friend, confidante and advocate. We want to share our life, our hopes and successes with them. But should sharing our life include sharing the details of our work?

According to her 24-year study, The Early Years of Marriage," the longest-running study of married couples ever conducted, Terri Orbuch, PhD, has discovered a positive correlation between happiness at work and a happy marriage. As project director of this research, funded by the National Institute of Health, Dr. Orbuch has studied what makes marriages happy - and what breaks them apart - since 1986. Dr Orbuch says it's advisable for couples to discuss their work (as well as other subjects of interest) in order to achieve a sense of "togetherness." Couples who bond with each other to this degree are simply happier.

Depending upon your personality and work philosophy, though, bringing the job home may not come naturally. What about couples who find it difficult to discuss their work with their spouse? Dr. Orbuch encourages these couples to open those channels of communication, lest their relationships suffer serious consequences. She explains, "My study found that the happiest marriages were ones where partners felt their spouse regularly disclosed information about his or her life, and did not keep secrets—even details from work that might be deemed “boring.” My study also showed that interdependence in a relationship--which includes sharing workplace burdens and concerns--gives spouses more incentive to stay together. Also, self-disclosure from one spouse generally leads to self-disclosure from the other. Psychologists call this the "norm of reciprocity in relationships." Translation: if you don't share your work life, it creates more distance between spouses, less happiness, and more opportunities for secrets to flourish."

Why do couples avoid talking about work? Dr. Orbuch concludes, "People think their work life is boring, too complex to explain, or perhaps even catty, when the topic involves workplace relationships gone sour. Also, there is a common myth out there, that work and family/marriage should stay separate: “What happens at work, should stay at work and not spill over into your marriage/family life.” This myth needs to be dispelled."

"It's so important to let your spouse understand what those 8 hours a day you spend away from him or her are like for you," says Dr. Orbuch. "I know of one couple in which the husband felt his work as the CEO and CFO of an investment management firm would be uninteresting or too technical for his wife. What he learned, however, is that when he shared his daily worries, small triumphs, and even arcane financial analyses with her, he discovered that she was fascinated, really "got" what he did, wanted to find out more, and even had offbeat insights that made him think about his work life in a fresh way. Now they talk work regularly, and she offers him smart perspectives that make him feel as if he's not alone in an ivory tower. Also, because she has background, he doesn't have to give her the whole history behind new developments about employee issues and policies when they arise."

How can you overcome feelings of discomfort if it is not your habit to discuss work issues at home? Dr. Orbuch suggests these strategies:

Get personal. Talk about someone at work, rather than the work itself. If you're having a conflict with a coworker, or perhaps you admire your new boss, make this the topic of conversation with your spouse.

Ask for advice. A good way to talk about work is to ask your spouse to help you with a particular problem you're having--how to tell your boss the project deadline is unreasonable, or how to master a new software program that's causing you grief.

First, ask about his or her work. If you want to talk about your work, ask about your spouse's work first. Ask specific questions that begin with what, how, or why. This way, you get out of the old "How was work today?" trap that invites a one-word answer. After he or she has shared and you've listened, you can share your own workplace story in response.

Thanks to Dr. Orbuch and her years of research, there are practical, tried-and-true methods for bringing up work issues in your marital relationship. It's all about integrating the many aspects of your life into your most significant relationship, helping to create a more seamless balance between work and your life. Doing so will make you happier - and by association, you'll enjoy a happier marriage.

Do you find it difficult to share your work life with your spouse?

Edited: 05/27/2010 at 09:59 PM by Gina