Earlier this week, Stephanie and I huddled together at my computer streaming the local news/talk radio station live to listen to the final press conference about the triple murder 'suspect'/former UGA professor. But low and behold, the radio station wasn't broadcasting the news conference live. And, none of the local or Atlanta newspapers or television stations were posting any information on their Web sites about it while it was happening.

The only way we were able to stay up to date with the latest news coming from the conference was through Twitter. Even with all of this media at our fingertips - audio, video, Web sites, etc., Twitter was the sole channel providing live updates via tweets posted by The Red & Black reporters who were attending the news conference.

Tracking Twitter updates via Tweetdeck on my computer and through updates on our iphones, we got all of the information that ACC Police and other officials released - well ahead of time that other news organizations finally got around to posting their stories on their Web sites. This is the beauty of Twitter - immediate updates on topics you are interested in from people and organizations you follow.

Wikipedia defines Twitter as a free social networking and micro-blogging service that enables its users to send and read other users' updates - also known as tweets. Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 characters in length which are displayed on the user's profile page and delivered to other users who have subscribed to them (known as followers). Since its creation in 2006 by Jack Dorsey, Twitter has gained extensive notability and popularity worldwide. It is often described as the "SMS of Internet," in that the site provides the functionality (via its application programming interfaces) for other desktop and web-based applications (like Tweetdeck, Tweetie, Twhirl, etc.) to send and receive short text messages, often obscuring the Twitter service itself.

As Microblogging becomes more and more popular, many seem to be lost as to how it can fit into their overall marketing and promotion plans. But the opportunities are endless. It seems like most everyday we are explaining the benefits to clients and encouraging them to incorporate Twitter as a strategy to promote their Web site and their business.

Here are some examples of how Twitter can improve your Web presence, drive traffic to your site and complement your marketing.

Announce Newly Added Content to Your Web Site

Twitter is the perfect avenue to publicize a new blog post, news article, event or other form of information that you have just posted to your site. If you are not proactive about attracting visitors to your site, then you are basically just sitting out there waiting for someone to stop by.

Stream Updates From Interesting Events

Are you attending a conference, meeting, sporting event, or performance? Provide live updates via Twitter to let your followers know what is happening from where you are. Our friends at the Leon Farmer and Company were recently touring breweries out west and kept us posted with photos and updates from their travels via Twitter.

Follow Industry Leaders and Experts

Use Twitter to find and follow the people you respect in your industry. You will gain valuable information, links, news and other information from this practice.

Advertise Sales, Promotions and Special Events

Broadcast information about sales, specials and events through Twitter. It's easy, fast and most importantly free and may reach an audience that your traditional advertising isn't.

Reach Out to Media and Consumers

To me, Twitter is a passive way to keep in touch with people. You are letting others know about your brand, company or organization without personally bombarding them with press releases, email or other direct contact. It complements traditional media relations and could catch the attention of someone you don't normally communicate with.

Monitor Your Own Brand

About a month or so ago, after waiting at home for the cable guy to show (late of course) for the 4th time in five weeks, I posted a tweet about it (it might have expressed my frustration). Within seconds, I had a direct message reply, an email and my phone was ringing. Turns out Charter is on Twitter and monitoring what is said about their brand. They did remedy my situation and I even got a Hallmark card in the mail from them - how's that for customer service?

Communicate with Friends and Colleagues

As a form of social media, Twitter also has a "fun" element. It's interesting to know what your friends are up to, what is going on in their day, where they are vacationing, where they eat lunch (by the way, @brianbrodrick is always at Taqueria Del Sol!)

So if you're not already, try it out and don't be scared - we're only talking 140 characters max per tweet.

And be sure to check out the Plexus Crew, @plexusweb, @ssharp, @natalieglee, @kellyjones, @travisroberts, @kimlandrum, @charliebomber, and @andrewreifman.