Twitter applications and related websites multiply faster than the proverbial rabbits, and I’m way behind in bringing the new tools to you!

Twitter has now published its own “Twitter 101 Guide for Businesses” that is freely accessible to everyone. There’s an ongoing debate regarding how to promote your business, opportunity, or product on Twitter. Read this guide for what Twitter itself considers to be the “best practices”.

My Shopping Genie affiliates should definitely read this guide so that they can make the most professional use of Twitter.

Watch Stephen’s interview on Fox2now, St. Louis television station, discussing the impact of Twitter on Internet marketing: Using Twitter for Online Marketing

Find links to follow My Shopping Genie and MyNet Universe on Twitter.

Simple answers to “What is Twitter?”, “Why use Twitter?”, “How does Twitter work?”, “How do I get started with Twitter?” as well as suggested Twitter tools and applications.

My Shopping Genie affiliates: If you think that sites like Facebook and Twitter have no place in your marketing plan, check out this short list of companies and institutions who are putting Twitter to work in interesting ways:

10 Examples of Creative Twitter Uses

Here’s one man’s blog post confirming how valuable the JetBlue tweets were to him: Social Media Case Study – How JetBlue Used Twitter to Treat Me Like A Human

If your telephone is your only way of contacting people, you’re missing out on quite an opportunity! One-on-one and three-way calls are very important, but when you post an update tweet to Twitter, hundreds or thousands of people see it! The important thing to remember is that on Twitter and other social community sites, you must build relationships, not bombard folks with marketing messages!

Be sure to add your Twitter link to your email signature and web pages!

Here, the Royal Pingdom blog discusses the Twitter Effect: How could a single tweet generate that much traffic?

Note: Open a Twitter account if you haven’t already! Notify all your team members of your link and encourage them to do the same. I’d suggest using your own name, but your are allowed more than one account. If you’d prefer to keep your “real name” account for personal friends and family, then use your My Shopping Genie affiliate ID as your Twitter name. Remember to add #genietalk to any tweet about My Shopping Genie! See all #genietalk posts at TwittGroups.com. Learn what a Twitter Group is, then enter this URL: http://twittgroups.com/group/genietalk

Six lines down, you’ll see “Join Group”. Click there to enter your Twitter ID. Then any time you tweet about My Shopping Genie, add #genietalk to your tweet so others can find your tweets easily by visiting the genietalk TwitterGroups page.

Learn about hashtags at Twitter Fan Wiki.

Get a weekly report from MrTweet that shows you who is following you whom you are not following, suggests “influencers” relevant to you – based on your existing network and interactions, and shows you your profile stats. (See mine – I’m a “statistic”! Karen_Taylor.)

Some My Shopping Genie affiliates may not have much experience using the computer or the Internet, but if you can read and send email, you can use Twitter!

Check the Twitter Resources page for a growing list of Twitter-related websites and ebooks. Meantime, here are some helpful pages:

How to Retweet – A Beginner’s Guide

A Retweet is a type of message posted (or tweeted) on micro blogging sevice, Twitter, that repeats some information previously tweeted by another user. The person making the Retweet is a Retweeter or a Retweetist.

The Retweet has become a common way to spread information across overlapping social groups online. The principle is simple, my circle of contacts will often vary from your circle of contacts enough that the act of Retweeting what you say has extended value to a greater group of people. It also has the effect of highlighting an interesting piece of information when a third person is a contact of both the original tweeter and the retweetist. Repetition hammers home the point.

Learn how with the step-by-step instructions.

Here’s a good blog post: How to Be a Better Tweeter

Note: Remember to add #genietalk to any tweet having to do with My Shopping Genie! Retweeting is a good way to share good My Shopping Genie-related tweets with those following you.