Twitter and yoga could be a perfect match for this little bird which tweets above its weight.

If you're wondering why Twitter is being promoted on TV shows like Q&A, why so many journalists have the '@' symbol as part of their bylines, and why major new sites like smh.com.au feature twitter buttons; well, welcome to the Big Deal around town.

What is Twitter (in 140 characters)

1. Twitter is a micro-blogging site of short ‘tweets’ restricted to 140 characters which may include links to web pages, video, pic etc.
2. People on Twitter, or Tweeple, start ‘following’ who they like & each person’s Twitter page shows a live stream of their followers’ Tweets.
3. Twitter requires wide bandwidth as it’s constantly refreshing & designed to be read & written ‘on the go' from your mobile phone.
4. It has minimal functionality & pared-back design, so lots of apps & sites have grown around it such as photo hosting sites.
   
   

The challenge of condensing your point to 140 characters is why tweets are often written in ‘txt talk’ with shortened words, symbols (like the ampersand, &) and missing vowels.

Why Twitter punches above its weight
Twitter has more than 200 million registered users since it started in 2006 (a quarter of Facebook’s 800 million users), and the latest statistics from March this year show another 460,000 Twitter accounts are opened every day.

Yet, Twitter’s influence extends far beyond what these numbers reveal. It has helped break numerous major news stories, hitting a peak of 5106 tweets a second in the minutes preceding Barack Obama’s official announcement of the death of Osama Bin Laden. It is also very popular among journalists who use Twitter for research, following trendsetters, influencers, businesses in sectors they cover and, of course, other journalists.

Much of its appeal is due to its speed of information. By following people whose opinions you value, Twitter, in effect, becomes a conglomeration of news sources, friends chatting openly, and the free and easy exchange of information as people ‘re-Tweet’ others’ Tweets.

How Twitter can help your business

1. Make contact with people you’d like to work with
   Dream about going on a work-play holiday around the States? Start meeting studio owners over Twitter.
2. Promote your events or courses
   … But refrain from tweeting your every class.
3. Re-tweet other yoga business’s best tweets
   Remember to share and share alike if you want people to share your stuff.
4. Promote your own content
   Link your Twitter account with your website, blog or YouTube channel so it automatically sends a tweet out when you add new content.
5. Talk with your customers and potential customers
   Many people will ask or tell you things they wouldn't face-to-face.
6. Drive web visitors to your site
   People on Twitter are very used to clicking links - this could become a huge source of your website traffic.

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