We start by examining one tool that has the ability for dynamic growth and impact of one site in particular and that is- twitter. You may have or have not heard about this site, but with close to 19% of all Internet users using this medium according to a Pew Internet & American Life report, it’s difficult for some to see business potential. Of course, to understand its potential, we first must establish what it is exactly and how to best use it for your business.

First off, Twitter is a social media site. Social media as searchenginewatch.com defines is, “a category of sites that is based on user participation and user-generated content.” However, while they share these same qualities, they’re different in their approaches on how to share information.

Twitter describes itself as a service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to “one simple question: What are you doing?” That may sound vague and unclear so think of Twitter as mashable.com describes it: just conversation in a new shape and being able to listen to the conversation of others in new ways.

While the Age of Information is in full swing, there is often an overload of information as opposed to timely, relevant information for the person attempting to stay current with what’s going on in the world. Twitter filters this information by allowing for only the pertinent information to be seen. It does this by limiting the number of written characters to 140 for every post. With such little amount of writing space, it forces users and businesses to expose the meat of an idea and often with links and sources to offer more defined details.

Generating such specific content, Twitter gives users the chance to see only the information they value and can easily stay current with what is happening in that chosen field or market.  This presents a great opportunity to use Twitter to connect your business to its clientele.

“When you combine messages that are quick to write, easy to read, public, controlled by the recipient and exchangeable anywhere, you’ve got a powerful, real-time way to communicate. And real-time communication is turning out to be ground-breaking for users and businesses alike,” www.business.twitter.com.

Look out for our next installments >> “The Twonderful Tworld of Twitter”

To be followed by>> specific examples of successful business strategies on Twitter.

Western media says Twitter had a large role in recent Iranian protests. The facts say that’s only part of the story.

The Election

Less than two hours after the polls closed, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced that he won 63 percent to Mir Hossein Mousavi’s 34 percent. Mousavi’s supporters say he won 60 percent. While Iranian elections were never fair and private, voters were enraged that Iran did not even make a pretense to count all the votes. Urban intellectuals, students, women from all backgrounds and others are contesting over ten million votes, while most rural Iranians are happy with the results.

The Powder Keg

Westerners who claim Twitter as the coup de gras fail to account for a more important variable – demographics. During and following Iran’s eight year war with Iraq, Iranian clerics urged high birth rates to supply the military. When the resulting 1980s baby boom caused a crisis for the war-torn population, clerics reversed their council. Around the same time, literacy rates in Iran escalated. Coupled with the tremendous death toll from war, political executions and an earthquake, most urban Iranians alive today are educated twenty-something’s – a common recipe for protests.

As a BBC timeline shows, Ahmadinejad’s 2005 election ushered in a conservative lock-down at the same time most Iranians were becoming politically aware. Unlike their parents, younger Iranians don’t remember the 1979 Islamic Revolution. They didn’t live under the Shah’s oppression, but they do know journalists imprisoned today. It was only a matter of time before this simmering anger erupted.

How Iranians used Twitter

Twitter let the world in on the protests. Its 140 character format was perfect for tiny updates, and Iranians can tweet with a cell phone while on the street. With grainy pictures and blunt descriptions of police brutality, Iranians supply Western media with information free from clerical propaganda. However, most on-the-ground communication is simpler: text messages, quickly scribbled notes and word of mouth. Furthermore, Twitter isn’t just a minority protest tool: Ahmadinejad used Twitter in his election campaign, and his supporters use Twitter to defend the election. The information sharing portal only gained significance once traditional journalists were no longer permitted into the flurry of activity.

The Significance

While only 8,600 Twitter users say they are from Iran — and many of these cannot navigate their government’s blocks — the site is one more step away from so called “traditional” journalism (for better or worse) and all those in “information disseminating” roles, albeit marketing, public relations, news, sales, advertising or otherwise would do well to respond.

It can’t be denied that Twitter is a powerful tool for information sharing from a few to many. While the focus should remain on people, not their tools, knowing the tools available often allows for greater focus on the people themselves.

Oh, and if you want to follow the Twitter News Coverage, check out http://iran.twazzup.com/

Rome Boulevard is making the most of this phenomenon.  Check out 3-D animated drawings of Phase One: The Boardwalk on the Boulevard YouTube Channel.

To capitalize on the democratizing effect of Twitter and the accessibility of executives big and small, Rome Boulevard is now tweeting. By building a community of friends, media outlets, potential tenants, and similar projects, developers have access to an even more conversational medium,  a way to create buzz and generate potential leads, and a forum to receive information about the industry that may be helpful in decision making or sales pursuits.

If you’d like to watch this case study unfold, subscribe to the videos and you’ll be notified when there are updates,sign up for a twitter account (takes about a minute) and follow the Boulevard.

What is your business? Can it benefit from going social? What are you hesitant about?

Click: Twitter CEO tells his story.

And some facts about Twitter:

Neville Hobson on the Growth of Twitter
How Much Is Twitter Worth (in 2008)
Twitter in 2009

So, the question is, how does this work in Northwest Georgia? How do we encourage lucky accidents, patient investors, techno-social savvy?
Please feel free to respond.