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Are you a Twitterholic or a Twitter newbie? Are you using Twhirl to update your Twitter tweets? Whether you're just dipping your toes into the water or diving in head first, there's no doubt that Twitter has become the latest darling of the social networking scene. Aside from the ability to post your own, brief, 140-character updates, Twitter offers a few fun surprises. By now you may be wondering how you can use this neat, little tool to connect and communicate with the rest of the online world. Well, here are five new ways you can use Twitter (and Twhirl) to maximize your connections and boost your business...

First, a quick heads-up on Twhirl... Twhirl is a Twitter "client," or desktop application, that makes Twitter even easier to use. Twhirl sits on your desktop and basically mirrors the Twitter interface, so you can post updates and monitor your friends' posts without having to log-in to Twitter. Twhirl also gives you the option of replying to your friend's "tweets," or sending them a direct (private) message.

As for new ways to use Twitter, consider the following:

1. Your own personal search engine - You can use Twitter like a private search engine by asking your friends and followers to point you in the right direction.

2. Instant feedback - Twitter can also act as your own, personal focus group. Just post a quick question and use Twitter to solicit surveys, opinions or ideas.

3. Links in a blink - Use Twitter to link to your latest blog posts, sites of interest, etc. Twitter will even shorten the URL for you.

4. Continue conversations - As mentioned above, Twitter and Twhirl make it easy to communicate with your friends via their direct message and individual reply tools.

5. Instant Info - Use Twitter to sign up for updates or breaking news from your favorite websites such as CNN.com. (http://twitter.com/cnnbrk)

In the spirit of Twitter brevity, I'll leave you with a few Twitter do's and don'ts (All less than the allotted 140 characters!)

DO:

• Find and follow people you admire. Chances are, they will "follow" you back.

• Add your photo to your profile.

• Go to Twitter's settings tab and customize the appearance of your Twitter page.

• Set up your Twitter posts to feed directly to your Facebook status updates.

DON'T:

• Blatantly promote your own agenda or products.

• Go overboard with your links and URLs.

• Be dull!