Twitter is the hottest social network of 2009. At first glance, it's a very limited platform: you make a list of people you want to follow (think of these as your buddies or friends), and post updates of no more than 140 characters to let your followers know what you're doing or thinking about. You can also use Twitter to send direct, private messages to people who are following you (a lot like a chat or SMS message), and you can choose who gets to see your updates....and that's about the extent of Twitter's core features.

But Twitter's simplicity belies its extraordinary power and flexibility. Thanks in part to an API that encourages other applications to plug into Twitter, you can use Twitter to:

• automatically announce your latest blog posts
• create a mini-blog on any topic
• share photos or videos on the fly
• keep in touch with family and friends
• post to applications like time trackers or project management tools
• track what people are saying about you or your brand
• fuel peer-to-peer promotion of your brand or product
• run a backchannel conversation during a conference or event
• post updates to Facebook and other social networks
• run contests and promotions
• find colleagues with common interests

With so many ways of using Twitter, your most critical decision is how you want to make Twitter work for you and your organization. Start with a clear goal, and err on the side of caution; you may want to create a personal (and pseudonymous) account to play with so you can get used to Twitter's pace and culture, before you put Twitter to work at work. When you are ready to put Twitter to professional use, take a focused approach to your Tweets that supports your goals and provides people with a reason to talk about your products or brand