Twitter.com asks us, simply, “What are you doing?”

What’s a Twitter?

Twitter is an online social community tool that allows people to update friends—and strangers—worldwide about specific moments in their lives.

Users can send updates directly from the Twitter website, text message them from a mobile phone, or instant message them via AIM, Jabber or Gtalk.

Gaining Traction

Hitwise UK Research Vice President Heather Hopkins wrote about Twitter’s surge in popularity in a recent article, but noted a sharp downturn in market share of overall UK internet visits. Her findings indicate Twitter may still be gaining in US popularity against other internet community sites.

(Click charts for larger view.)

Well-known Canadian blogger, Kate Trgovac, has a Twitter widget on her popular MyNameIsKate blog.

Even presidential hopeful John Edwards is Twittering.

Growing Concerns

Power blogger Steve Rubel of Micro Persuasion has written extensively about Twitter lately. He’s even used “addicted” to describe his fascination with the trendy social connection tool. But in a recent article, he suggested Twitter’s lacking revenue stream may prove problematic when US-to-overseas SMS charges roll in.

Twitter has alternately been referred to as micro-blogging, a toy, and a revolution. The question is whether it is a nascent niche player or a bona fide long tail fixture in the social media landscape.

It’s far too early to tell if it has reached its maturation point so early in its life cycle or if the crowd mentality of social networks is just being dismissive and fickle regarding this new concept.

A Twitter Takeaway

Advance preparation and rapid deployment are key in reacting to emergent social networking trends. As you develop integrated marketing strategies, consider augmenting them with a flexible, at-the-ready, component plan designed to capitalize on Twitter-like opportunities as they arise.

Image Source: Inju