Customizing Twitter for YOU

I can't tell you how many times I've been asked in the past couple weeks how individual people in different fields should be using Twitter. OK, I probably could pinpoint it, but we'll just leave it as having come up frequently in several different conversations—and not by my doing by the way.

The main thing I've been saying is that you can use Twitter however you want to; there are no set rules and instructions. People simply come up with ideas, decide what they want to do and make things work out for them and how they decide to tweet. Yea, it's confusing I know. It's just hard to tell someone exactly why they should get on Twitter and how they could use the program. What I get out of Twitter might not be what you want to get out of Twitter. Since this is a relatively new phenomenon, people are experimenting a lot in a variety of ways. So, to help shed some light and provide some examples, I've gathered a few interesting and unique ways people and businesses are tweeting.

@waffletruck—Located in New York City, this company sells waffles throughout the streets from their truck. How they use Twitter? They tweet updates regularly to let customers know where they are located.

@reporterssource—This is a free service that links reporters and other members of the media with sources, businesses etc. Those interested in being a source (subject experts, professionals, etc.) can sign up and those looking for sources can submit a request. The program tweets requests and helps make connections happen.

@laundryroom—College students alert! Ever dragged your entire wardrobe to the laundry room just to find that no washers were available? Well, this program at Olin College (in Maine?) automatically sends out a tweet to residents when a washer or dryer is available. (I think it would be great if it tweeted you when your load was done too!!)

@Careerealism—Anyone with a twitter account can submit career-related questions which are then answered by various established and carefully selected career professionals. All in 140 characters or less. Nearly 200 questions have been submitted and answered so far. These include those about a religious person debating a promotion that requires working on Sundays; a job seeker having slept through an interview; using social media to find a job; and networking at a desired job. (Check out all of the questions submitted so far.)

@cookbook—This one is a little intense, but these tweets offer "tiny recipes" from all over the world. That's right, some have trouble tweeting with limited space, but this source offers entire recipes.

@SATwordoftheday—Forget the huge prep books and complicated study methods. Instead get a tweet a day (maybe specifically sent to your cell phone?) with a new vocabulary word to learn.

@twittercize—Every get bored of doing the same exercises? Following the motto "Get fit, one tweet at a time," these tweets offer one minute exercises delivered straight to your Twitter device of choice. You have all the instructions you need and maybe you'll love the exercises and fit them into your regular fitness routine!

@elemteachers—This tweeter lets elementary teachers share good ideas and effective resources. (In this same field, check out this list of elementary teacher tweeters AND this article about using Twitter to improve teacher/parent communication.)

These are just some examples I've found in the last couple weeks. There are a couple specific fields I've been asked about that I didn't address (local music group, dentists, techs in movie industry, etc.), so let me know what unique Twitter users you've found.

Also, what do you think about these examples? Are people ready to start using Twitter regularly in more arenas?