Entrepreneur Mag for December includes an article here that helps put Twitter into perspective a bit more and gives “The netiquette of Twitter.”

From the Article:

“Twitter is about reaching the right people at the right time,” says Becky McCray, a longtime Twitter user and advocate who operates her own cattle ranch and liquor store as well as a website, SmallBizSurvival.com., in Oklahoma’s Woods County. “But you have to think carefully about what messages you want to communicate.” Here are some recommendations for what to do–and what not to do–on Twitter.

• Listen before speaking. “When you sign up and start reaching out to folks, listen to them before joining the conversation,” McCray says. “What are their customers talking about? Who are they listening to, and what can I learn from them? When you feel it’s time to tweet some messages, share things you find interesting–share things you wish other people would share.”

• Don’t be boring. “Make sure your tweet is interesting to the reader–be unselfish, and be useful,” says Laura Fitton, co-author of the book Twitter for Dummies and founder of the Twitter application storefront oneforty.com. Short, direct messages work best, especially given Twitter’s 140-character limit. Talk about what your business is doing–e.g., new products, services or promotions, or anything else likely to pique the curiosity of your clientele.

• Consider the source. “The beauty of Twitter is that tweets with value are almost instantly recognized,” says John Battelle, founder, chairman and CEO of Federated Media Publishing. “Does it come from somebody who’s been on Twitter for a month, or for a year? Someone with 10 followers, or 10,000 followers? Did that tweet get picked up and re-tweeted? You can tell a lot about the value of a tweet by those metrics.”

• Update daily. Give your customers a reason to follow and return to your Twitter feed. Download a mobile client to your smartphone to facilitate regular updates while on the go–some of the most popular include Twitterific, TwitterBerry, PocketTweets and Twidroid.

• Embrace Twitter applications. Don’t wait for followers to find you–identify and connect with local Twitter users via services such as Twitter Advanced Search, ChirpCity, Nearby Tweets and Tweepz. Other Twitter apps of value: SocialOomph (for scheduling tweets, tracking keywords and sending direct messages), CalTweet (for tagging, promoting and sharing upcoming business events) and Twitalyzer (for measuring the impact and influence of your tweets).

“Twitter is a tool that’s incredibly powerful,” McCray says. “What makes it powerful is the fact that it can be used in so many different ways.”

Well, there you have it straight from Entrepreneur. One day, we will all figure out Twitter and maybe, just maybe, Twitter will figure out itself!

Google Wave is a forthcoming service that appears to be quite revolutionary in communication methodology.  It is a combination of email, message boards, and instant messaging mashed together in an intuitive fashion that heightens the efficiency and, ultimately, the productivity of communication.  Watching the video and checking out the post found here at bizzia.com gives you introduction to wave.  It may become a replacement for email, especially internally and beyond as its popularity grows and competitors adopt similar concepts.  I love seeing advancement in technology, more so when it will affect entrepreneurs and you can bet new ventures will pop up utilizing such new services and offering extensions thereof, just as you’ve seen with simple services like twitter.  Cool stuff! Check the vid out below. It’s kind of long but the first 20 min. or so give you the simple idea.

Twitter has been around for some time now and I have had an account for a lot of that time.  I did not begin using it regularly until just a few weeks ago (month or so? eh, a bit now).  I had a small handful of updates and a few followers but honestly, I just could get it.  I could see it for celebrities and others who looked for the cult following but I just couldn’t grasp it for me, my use.  I shot out a snippet here and there but all in all, maybe once a month.  So I did not use it myself nor did I really follow anyone.  I obviously was following some technically, but I never got on and really used it or check updates, feeds, the tweets of others.  I heard guru after guru say how they loved Twitter and are making all this money and getting success from Twitter but I couldn’t grasp it still.

The Turn to Twitter

Finally, one day I am speaking with an associate about Twitter and other technologies when he made the simple comment about utilizing it as an aggregator and the light finally clicked on!  I fairly regularly surf for new articles, content, reviews, etc.  I may as well share the wealth with others!  If you have ever seen my twitter updates, 90% of them are interesting articles, posts, and other tidbits from around the web.  I rarely, practically never, respond to direct messages (dm’s) or other more active forms of twitter use.  I do re-tweet from time to time and now I actually follow others in search of good articles, ideas, etc.  So my use, both in posting and reading, is looking for thought provoking tidbits, articles, and blogs.  Now, I’m not saying the other uses are not valuable, only that I haven’t found them to be for me (at least not yet). Twitter tends to be one of the biggest traps when attempting to regulate the information flow.  It is a matter of balance as well as efficient and effective utility.  At this point it is neither efficient nor effective FOR ME.  I definitely have to emphasize this as me sharing my use.  I am keen to the fact that others have found additional means of value and power to them!

I am somewhat a tech junkie for those who don’t know.  Although I may not always have the newest coolest gadgets, I’m simply fascinated by advancements, innovations, and breakthroughs in technology.  Right now Netflix is of interest to me as they continue against the grain of good ol’ fashioned cable.  Among the leaders of the internet TV movement, they are spearheading the campaign to unlimited, on-demand content availability via the web.  Needless to say, I like it!  I’ve been impressed with companies like redbox and their business model for simple, cost-effective dvd availability but as with much of today, these other concepts are simply side roads on the path to our new cloud reality.  In Wired magazine’s latest issue, they highlight Netflix’ bold moves and risks here.

Hastings [CEO] planned to one day deliver the entire recorded output of Hollywood, instantly and in high definition, to any screen, anywhere…

Netflix has taken the boldest step yet toward a world in which consumers, not programmers, determine not only what they watch but when, where, and how. The dream of routing around cable companies just may be in sight…

It is odd, in an era when the Internet seems able to worm its way into every part of life, that nearly all of us still watch television the old-fashioned way, piped over cable or beamed in by satellite and available only in bloated packages of channels programmed by network executives…

That’s not to say there are not obstacles, even substantial ones. Cable companies are beginning to make attempts with various web-based offerings attempting to route out not only Netflix but the internet TV movement, especially the “free” side of that movement. 

I find the use of a mind map as a great tool to add to the entrepreneurial tool-belt.  It allows you to “brain-dump” in a relatively organized manner while giving you a graphical representation of idea relationships, an additional dimension to your ideas.  It is not the “ultimate” tool (one probably doesn’t exist) but one I find very useful.  It plays a stage in the planning and strategy portion of my mind and allows me to organize the “chaos” that rolls around in my head (at least a good attempt at it). I then can translate and communicate the thoughts however necessary.

I currently use a free open-source program called MindMap (see here).  It is simple, easy to navigate, easy to understand, and offers the ability to use it how you want to.  Of course, it’s also free! Which is nice, especially for the bootstrapper.  I currently use the 0.90 rc3 beta and have had no problems or glitches so far.  I then am able to translate the mind maps to business plans, strategy papers, blog posts, or simply send them anywhere as a PDF or whatever I want.

If you have any solutions that you like more, let me know!

I recently posted this video at billybush.net here but liked it enough, I figured I better share it here on Business|BB as well.  I’m a sucker for innovation, especially that of the “entrepreneurial” sort, which most innovation is…