Twitter allows you to communicate with thousands of people in a short time. There is more than one way to use twitter. For example, our local police use it to send out notices of accidents, road closures, etc. " Rt 9 closed at 704 due to accident" i know that if I'm going to leesburg, I stay on 287 S over to Purcellville instead of turning left on 9 and then getting stuck in traffci jam.

Dennis Swartz these are social media tools - and one does not need to use it. However, people have found out the ways to promote their brand and generate business using these tools - Twitter, just being one of them.

Others we all know are Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn ......and there are hundreds of other such sites.

It is a very generational tool.  If you want practically live coverage of major events, as they happen, Twitter is your go to tool!  Embrace it and it will be your friend

Dennis, if your clients are on twitter, then you should be also. If not, then I wouldn't worry about it. Personally, I look at Twitter and many other social media apps as just another "shiny object" for the masses to waste their time with. Case in point, look at the owner (along with many other highly productive people of his ilk) of this site—even though he has a Twitter account, he rarely posts, same goes for his Facebook and other social media outlets. Doesn't that tell you something?

Twitter offers a means to read about the thoughts by others and to share your opinions or special interests. 

You follow people because you are interested in hearing what they have to say. 

Walk away from social media right now, Dennis.  Oh, and there are some kids on your lawn right now.  GO GET EM!  

#getoffmylawn

Twitter is a source of news for me. I always get all major events from there. Also, if I share a blog post/FB update on Twitter, somehow I get more traffic. 

If you want to know what's going on in the world, you'll hear it on Twitter first, before the news media picks it up. I get all my news on a variety of topics only from Twitter. The goldmine of Twitter is in the Lists feature. 

Dennis - Twitter is a way to send a short message and get it out to the masses immediately. You can also use links to send people to your posts, website, etc. It is nothing you need to use to be successful in real estate.

Good Question!  I can't wait to read the comments.

I think it's really odd myself. so I don't know. 

Dennis,
Twitter works best when there is a very focused subject for users to rally around and follow. Sports teams, certain professions, music, etc.

I understand use of Twitter is on the decline.

I don't really get it...the way it is used is just dumb

Don't use Twitter. I figure if I did and posted my next bowel movement there, I would never leave my office due to all the wasted time when I could have been driving to meet with clients.

Dennis, I post all my blog entries there with links to my website (not twitter's URL shortener, bit.ly or another URL shortener) and they do get shared out.  These shares help to increase my company's exposure as most of my followers resharing content are out of my general area.

Nothing of $ value has come of it, but maybe someday.

Twitter has a very specific user base and is great for receiving short, tactical communications from agencies (Rescue happening at ___  Roads closed).  It should not be your only social outlet, but should be incorporated into a broader strategy.

I see little point to it, but I do use it to spread the urls to my blog pages, and surprisingly many of them get shared there.

I have an account but never use it....not enoug time....

I have wondered the same thing myself. I get a very good response but what does it all mean?

Dennis - I admit to "using" Twitter but can honestly say I don't get it.  

I could care less and basically I think it is used by the cell phone obsessed generations.

Have wondered the same thing myself...

Dennis, I've never been able to "get" Twitter!

I opened an account and that's as far as it went. 

I have an account, and send some of my posts to Twitter, but do not go in and do anything else. 

Twitter has evloved to an immediate news network, a video resource, and a social media for a viral spread of information if used properly. If it is about having trivial pursuits, like any social media it doesn't have worth.

No one should doubt the global influence of Twitter.

Every event has a Twitter feed and someone reporting on the the twitter activity.

For many Twitter is like a chainsaw. If you don't know how to use it, do not pick it up.

The main reason folks don't understand Twitter is because what they are doing now is working just fine. No need to learn anything new.

my daughter and her friends use it all the time - I haven't found the value yet

All I can say is that I have actually sold homes from a Tweet, so yes I am a HUGE fan. 

I do not use twitter.

Not sure I see any value in Twitter myself!