Twitter - Why is everyone talking about Twitter?

What is it?

Twitter is a micro-blog, or as some call it moblog. It is a real-time short messaging service that works over multiple networks and devices. Believe it or not, people all around the world are using Twitter to access information and news as it happens.

So who is using it?
Newspapers:
The New York Times, NY @nytimes (stats) and
USA Today @ondeadline (stats)

TV and Radio
BBC @BBC (stats),
CNN @cnn (stats), @CNNNewsroom (stats), and
NPR News @nprnewsblog (stats), @nprnews (stats)

Government Organizations
The White House: Communications Office, and
The White House: Office of National Drug Control Policy

Twitter in Academia

Possible uses for Twitter:

User Friendly - Twitter is quick and easy to learn. It is used by people all around the world, and the best thing about Twitter is the 140 character limit that ensures messages are short and to the point.

Communication Tool – It is a great way to promote class chatter and build a classroom community, simply post a reflective question and have students respond.

Promote Content – You have the opportunity to post relevant questions and points of view about various topics, and watch the twitter community respond.

New Audience – It is a great venue to interact with colleagues around the world, gather insight on specific topics of interest from people with diverse backgrounds.

Reflection Tool & Resource Repository – You have the ability to search and gather news stories that relate to topics that you teach in class.

Track a conference – Before going to a conference, follow the buzz about the conference from attendees and participating vendors . For example, if you plan to attend the Midwest Education Technology Conference in St. Louis in 2009, click here to see the buzz. .

For more ideas, read:
Ways to use Twitter in Academia