Still wondering why you need Twitter? If you haven’t discovered the power of tweeting, or you’ve started only to “tweeter-out”, 2010 is the time to get onboard.

I had a recent experience that demonstrated the power of Twitter. After a five year relationship, I had a dispute with a hosting company. They didn’t acknowledge traditional communication: email, phone calls or even registered letters. I started closing down client accounts and moved on.  I through a final salvo:  a “tweet” on Twitter announcing my disgust with this company and that I had yanked my business.

All other forms of communication failed, however they responded to my tweet. While their response was too little, too late small businesses and consumers can pick up insight for why they really need to be on Twitter.

Twitter is a two-way street: you can post your thoughts and you can see what people are saying about you. So, for a business you can promote yourself and also jump on negative feedback, and even “re-tweet” positive feedback.

Whether you’re a business or a consumer, whether you tweet regularly or not, you’ve got to have followers on Twitter. Followers are your audience. If you follow someone or a business on Twitter, it’s likely they will follow you.

You’ll never know when you’ll need to Twitter.

Follow me: https://twitter.com/designtospec