Ashton Kutcher v. CNN v. Kelly Tyler

Within the next few hours, movie star and producer Ashton Kutcher or CNN will become the first tweeter to reach 1,000,000 followers. As of this moment, I have 119 followers. Okay, so I'm not really in the competition with the big boys of twitter.

It's been only a month since I joined the tweople on twitter. "Tweople," that's what they call "people" over there. Here's what I've learned so far, just in case it would help those thinking of joining:

1. There's a whole new abbreviated language to learn. Luckily, my teenage niece and nephew have taught me a few things through their texts, but there's more to learn on twitter.


2. The ability to write complete thoughts in 140 characters is not possible for everyone but is a wonderful talent to master.


3. There are a gazillion SEO marketers out there, and they will follow you, hoping you follow them too. They measure value in terms of # of followers.


4. Don't pat yourself on the back too quickly when people follow you. Some are doing so only to sell you something, shocking as it is.
   
5. If you do not follow everyone who follows you, some of them will stop following you. Don't let that hurt your feelings.


6. You can find anything on twitter--newscasters, comics, coffee enthusiasts, chefs, shoe enthusiasts--anything!


7. Since you can find anything there, twitter also can become time consuming. Limit the number of times and minutes you twitter during the day.


8. If twitter bores you, follow more interesting people.

Twitter is all over the place lately. It's the talk of the country, especially with the Ashton versus CNN contest and the rumors of a Google buyout. Some people love it and others balk at the whole concept. I'm still undecided but definitely see some benefit to it. The twitter bashers probably need to see how it is evolving. If you're a basher, take another look. If you haven't looked yet, get over there. (http://www.twitter.com/) Be in the know, at least.

Unlike Ashton and CNN, I am not on a quest to have the most followers. I am fine with 119--oh, 121 now--followers who really want to be in touch with me. If that includes you, you'll find me there at: http://twitter.com/KellyTyler I like the idea of a little cluster of like-minded people being linked via twitter. Oh, wait, linked? Linked In, that's a different story!

By the way, my vote is for Ashton because it was his use which propelled twitter to the center of attention in the US. Plus, I get CNN updates from their web site already. If you'd like to follow Ashton, here's his link: http://twitter.com/aplusk

It's a tight race to the million! Only 999,879 more to go!