Twitter. It made DM News' "6 Words That Hit the Biz - Big Time" list. While the business application of it is still up for debate, Social Networking is here and it's not going away. I must admit, I'm addicted to Facebook and Twitter. And I have them linked so that I can post my "tweets" on Twitter via computer or phone and it automatically updates my status on Facebook. (Thanks to Darryl at Plaid for introducing us to Twitter.)

I have no idea how my posts are received but it's fun to do. From a social aspect, it lets your friends know what you're doing. From a business perspective, whether you're the client or the vendor, or the seller or the buyer, it humanizes you. My favorite Twitterer (is this a word?... now it is!) is Tony Hsieh, the CEO of Zappos. The guy is brilliant, and a real person to boot. His tweets range from what he's doing at the airport to Zappos' corporate philosophy, some of which we've embraced here at RMI.

Facebook seems more about finding old friends and staying connected. Twitter is more real time. What are you doing NOW? I would suggest though that if you're in the business of selling something, that at least some of the content be about sales or coupons or the hot product or gift or idea. Something of benefit to the current or potential customer. Just being out there or on there is not enough. You have to provide value.

On Facebook, friends find you and you find friends. With Twitter, it's Follow You, Follow Me. My client, the Arbor Day Foundation, started following me on Twitter. I wondered how they found me since I hadn't mentioned to them that I was on there. I remembered that I posted something about a recent meeting I had with ADF. So I'm guessing they search "arbor day" and find you that way. Of course, I now follow Arbor Day. By the way, check out their Give A Tree greeting cards offer. Very cool and a worthy cause. I found another RMI client, Consumer Reports, on Twitter as well. I'm sure more will follow.

I still don't know what it's all about. But I'm all in. (Tony, did you see what I did there? Inside joke!) You can find me as "Al Yu" on Facebook and "catchit16" or "Al Yu" on Twitter. I really need to build my Twitter network, so please... follow me!

Happy New Year, everyone!