The Obligatory Twitter Post: 'Follow You, Follow Me,' Etc.

UPDATE: More on Twitter from Emily Reeves and Blake Rutherford.

As you can tell from the blog’s right rail, I’ve been at it for months now. Now I’m ready to say, “Follow me on Twitter.”

Twitter is that addictive little service that allows you to post “tweets,” or short, 140-character updates in a blog-like format. You can see my Twitter page here at http://Twitter.com/LT.

Twitter asks you to answer the question, “What are you doing now?” Some people take this literally, providing short updates on every aspect of their day (“Washing clothes,” “Watching ‘Mad Men,’” “Going through e-mails”).

But others have adapted the service to their own needs. Many news services have Twitter streams. The New York Times, CNN, Marketwatch and many others (including local news outlets like KTHV, KATV, KLRT and the Log Cabin Democrat) provide news headlines and links to fresh stories. Others use Twitter to live blog events, including the presidential debates, public meetings, whatever.

To me, this is where Twitter really sings. It allows me to post quick links to breaking news stories, new blog postings/news articles on ABPG Web sites, and off-site stories I find interesting. And that’s how I’ve been using it the last several months.

More on Twitter, breaking news, mobile Twittering, and a growing list of Twitter users in Arkansas, after the jump.

Live Twittering On Your Desktop

Count me as a Twitter devotee – after a long period of testing. I initially abandoned the curious microblogging service for months after signing in March 2007. I just didn’t get what the site offered.

It wasn’t until I downloaded and started using a free third-party desktop app for Twitter, called Twhirl, that I really got some use out of it. Twhirl opens up Twitter as a real-time chat — except it’s with a lot more people. Tweets pop up on your desktop in real time, so you don’t have to go to your Twitter page to see the latest updates.

(You can more Twitter desktop apps here.)

Breaking News Text Messages

Twitter also has the power to reach folks beyond the Web browser. When you set up an account and begin “following” others, you’ll get their tweets delivered straight to your Twitter homepage and live to your desktop app. If you give Twitter your cell phone number, you’ll also be able to get people’s tweets delivered to your cell phone as a text message.

That means that if you follow my Twitter stream, and I post a link to breaking news on ArkansasBusiness.com, you’ll get that message and link sent directly to your cell phone the instant I post it. Often, I post these links several minutes before a full story is posted. With Twitter, you can be on the cutting edge of breaking news.

I’ll continue doing a lot with Twitter, particularly during our election coverage over the next week. So sign up and follow me. You might be surprised at how addictive — and informative — this curious little Web service is.

Others on Twitter in Arkansas

The list of Twitter users in Arkansas is growing quickly. Here’s a very short list, including some people following me on Twitter. Some are companies, some are news organizations, some are people who just like to share their lives on Twitter. Still others augment their blogs with these brief updates.

Want me to add you to the list? E-mail me or message me on Twitter here.

News/News People

Today’s THV, KTHV: http://twitter.com/todaysthv

KATV: http://twitter.com/KATVNews

KLRT Fox 16 News: http://twitter.com/FOX16News

The Log Cabin Democrat: http://twitter.com/lcdonline

KARN: http://twitter.com/karnnewsradio

The Den: http://twitter.com/ArkSt_com

Kelly Dudzik: http://twitter.com/kellykdudzik

Sandra Kirk: http://twitter.com/skirk16

John Payne: http://twitter.com/djazzycool1

Bloggers