Heck, until recently I didn’t really understand the true power of Twitter so I figure this would be a good place to clear it all up.

For the purpose of this article let’s take a quick look at the Internet landscape and compare it to something we can all relate to … The city you live in right now.

Think about the parts of town where you go to find things to buy, whether it be a mall, a strip mall, or even the market where companies and individuals are all set up to sell their goods.

Is this really any different than the online stores which exist all over the Internet?  I don’t think so.

How about the plethora of newspapers you have to choose from.  The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, USA Today, National Enquirer or even your local newspaper.

There are a minimum of 100 online news sites to every single newspaper that exists offline … and in most cases you can access this news for free without trudging across your front lawn to retrieve your paper from the bushes.  :)

What if you are looking to visit the “wrong side of the tracks” in your city…

Well you can find that online as well with the porn sites and other undesirable stuff online.

I’m sure you can see the parallels with all these on and offline comparisons, and you are probably still wondering, “Where does Twitter fit in?”

People who sign up for Twitter typically use their 140 character allotment to tell the world what they are doing and in some cases use a link that points to more detailed information.  As I mentioned in my previous article, “Confessions of a REFORMED Twitter Spammer” I began using Twitter the wrong way simply because I didn’t understand it.

Since those dark times I woke up when I heard an excellent offline comparison.  In that comparison I heard Twitter compared to a cocktail party.

Think back to that familiar time when you arrived at a networking cocktail party and watched that annoying salesperson bounce around from person to person filling everyone in on what they do and what type of business they are looking for, and after cramming their business card in each person’s hand, they leave and go on to the next person.

Most of the time this entire conversation lasts less than 15 seconds and they don’t even take the time to ask the person what they do, or even their name.

Would you ever contact this person?  I didn’t think so!

I was that person in the early days with my Twitter use.

I thought it was a tool for me to repeat the information I wanted to spread over and over so my prospective target would be sure to get the message.

Since I didn’t GET IT, I didn’t realize I was annoying people andgiving them every reason to ignore me.

Heck, who wants to be pestered over and over with the same message?

I believe the best way to use Twitter is to provide valuable information for the people you would like to reach.  Make sure when someone arrives at your Twitter profile page, they find relevant, useful information with links to more complete information.

You should give Twitter the same time and attention you do the content of your website … unless you don’t pay much attention to that either.

There are many other ways you can use Twitter for your business beside providing “content based” information.  Stay tuned this week for more real life examples of how to use Twitter for Your business.