Of course this does not mean that all the one million twitter members get such dramatic results through their tweets. Why then does twitter generate so much interest and hype?

Twitter in India
Barring a few bloggers and social media enthusiasts (just a handful), India is non-existent on twitter. Not just India, but even globally twitter has been slow in gaining acceptance from most sections of the webbing world.

Twitter is meant for the digital native who swears by micro-blogging and for whom snackable content is the only content worth spending time on. With short attention span and a desire to cram the most into her day, twitter is a life-saver for those who are time starved. Digital immigrants however face their share of problems in understanding the `need' for twitter and give up on it too quickly.

Perhaps the nomenclature of twitter is a barrier too since it is not easy to understand the value of twittering especially since the name does not do much to help. If we called it `gupshup' perhaps there would be more takers in India.

If Bollywood celebrities, movie production houses or IPL teams sent out twitter updates, this would get a lot more popular. Maybe a digital display of tweets in a cricket match would also help promote the concept. Clearly, a lot can be achieved within the nano-constraints of 140 characters if we choose to re-imagine brand communications not as long messages but as shards of thoughts, feelings, tweets.

Tap into the global brain
Twitter ignites new thinking, conversation and ideas. It allows people from across the world to come together and share their thoughts and lives. It brings together people and their ideas which lead to newer conversations and lines of thought.

Twitter lets you follow the most creative, bizarre, new-age thinkers on the internet. So if you are bored of getting the same old updates from friends, you can follow some CEOs, inventors and thinkers.

Follow Scott Goodson (CEO, Strawberry Frog) on twitter and you will get updates about what he is reading, thinking or doing. It is pretty much like being with the person 24X7, only that they choose what you get to see.

Twitter is also good for self promotion and resource sharing. You can send updates about your company and work or share links to resources that are of value to you and your followers.

But then twitter is a network, and a network is only as good as the people in it. Pick the right ones to follow and you may just find yourself tweeting gladly in twitter world.

Tweeting brands
Twitter is good for sending out breaking news, brand promotions, day-only-sales, exciting updates, promoting a blog or bringing people together for a cause. Brands too have jumped headlong into twitter and a few of them are faring well.

Some twittizens believe that brands that exist on twitter are `lame' since they are not people and are pretending to be part of a conversation where big corporates do not belong.

American airline, Delta Airlines is on twitter and sends our tweets about offers, promos and other airline related information.

Tony Hsieh, CEO of popular online company specializing in footwear, Zappos, is on twitter too, though his tweets are as personal as they are professional in nature. He has a whopping 7000+ followers. What that does for his brand is debatable, but here is a CEO striking a conversation with his TG in a space of his/ her choice.