What is Microblogging?  I’ve heard that term thrown around a lot the past few months.  What qualifies as microblogging?  What sites are microblogging sites and what sites are not.  Let’s look into the issue a bit!  You might be surprised to learn you have been microblogging and not even knowing it!  Microblogging is quickly becoming one of the most popular technologies on the Internet with adoption of tools like Twitter growing at an exponential rate.

As the number of people using these technologies grows, the way people take advantage of them is becoming more sophisticated: they are being used more and more as a business tool. This article explains what microblogging is and introduces the most popular microblog sites. It discusses how these are being used from a business and marketing perspective and provides tips on safe and effective use of these forums.

What exactly is a Microblog?
Microblogs are very simple internet technologies that allow users to post short statements or sentences, usually limited to 140 characters on a central site. The post can be made available to anyone or only to a chosen audience. Much like the Facebook status box these services were used initially as a forum to share triviality (like what was for breakfast) with a wide audience but people quickly tired of the banality and now the way microblogs are used is becoming more sophisticated.

Sometimes seen as a factor in the evolution of blogging, micro blogs are, as the name suggests, like mini blogs in that they allow you to post information and streams of consciousness and make these available to the world over the Internet. Unlike a blog, however, a microblog doesn’t have unlimited room for creativity – you are forced to get to the point.

Which Microblog Should You Use?
By far the largest microblog is Twitter (according to Hitwise in Australia alone the popular microblog grew by over 500% new users in one calendar month this summer). Twitter was founded in 2006 and quickly gained attention by winning a prestigious South by South West Blog award in the spring of 2007. Although the site is growing at a tremendous rate, the user volume is still very small in comparison to social networking behemoths like MySpace. Using a simple clean interface, users can get set up and start Twittering really easily.

Another microblog technology that is growing in popularity is Plurk. Plurk differs from Twitter in that it provides a more visual “timeline” interface showing your “Plurks” and those you are following on a time sheet-style screen. Just launched in May this year, Plurk is a little more complex than Twitter to use but once you get the hang of it, it definitely appeals to those left brained people among us.

The omnipresent Google of course has its own version of a microblog which they obtained in late 2007.  Jaiku has since been closed to new users as they beta test the latest version (which seems very visually appealing with a nice map interface). Request a beta invite to try it out.

The other major player in the microblog scene is Pownce. This one is very similar to Twitter in its look and feel but it has more capabilities in terms of being able to share files and events. Also Pownce doesn’t limit you to 140 characters so you can add more detail to your posts.

I have been using Twitter for about three months and impressed by the quality of people that I find and that I interact with on a daily basis as I do my daily internet marketing.  I find great resources that  friends recommend that otherwise I would not have found.  Find me on Twitter here:  http://twitter.com/GatorWade

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