Twitter

Twitter lets you send short messages to you friends. These 140 character "Tweets" are used to tell other people what you are currently doing. It is a great application for keeping in touch with a group of friends. You can use it from your mobile phone with text messaging, through an instant messaging program or via the Twitter website.

Twitter was founded in March of 2006 by Obvious Corp, also the creators of the Odeo podcasting site. In October 2006 they launched their website and they quickly became a phenomenon. Among many other uses, they have been used while fighting wildfires in California and during the Democratic Presidential nomination for 2008.

Twitter is like a personal blog on steroids. It is easy to post, always available and you get quick reactions.

The Twitter website looks light and friendly. You mainly use the website to check on your contacts' messages and add new people to follow. You can add phone- and instant messenger details to receive updates on, by default you only get direct messages on your mobile. Public direct messages start with an @username and is also shown on your personal page.

Registration is done by creating a unique username that will be used to create a personal page (www.twitter.com/username) and by providing an email address (doesn't require confirmation). Next, you must let Twitter search your webmail account to locate friends in order to continue or click 'Home' escape.

Twitter is free to use and will be advertising supported. For now, there are no ads on their website and they don't send any advertising messages. Your cellphone provider may bill you for sending and receiving messages.

Twitter is a great way to keep in touch with a group of friends. It is the best way to meet up from time to time.

http://twitter.com/