In my last hub I shared how stumbleupon is fun, but Twitter is by far my favorite social network! I love being able to log in when I feel like it and share what I am looking at, or just take a gander at other people's favorite sites. Lately from watching CNN I have learned how big Twitter is becoming because all of the show hosts are on it, and many viewers even Tweet about their opinions on the current events. So what is a Tweet you ask? That is when you write a short message on Twitter letting people know what you are doing at the moment, which is much easier than logging into Blogger to write a post, and less time consuming too! Many other international and regional news sites such as the LA Times are using Twitter to promote their news stories, which is good to follow if you live in Southern California.  When it comes to the news I follow CNN, BBC, and the LA Times to find out about the latest breaking news stories. Twitter is a fast and easy way for people to stay in touch, and Twitter tags help people find like minded compatriots to chat with, or "follow" as they say in Twitter speak. I had always wondered the purpose of the hash tags, and these still seem a little funny.  However tags are very effect because these allow people to find a group of tweets on a particular topics, such as bikes or hot dogs. Each time when I sign into Twitter I often wonder how certain hash tags become more popular than others, and I think some people just ride the popularity train by trying out the tags on their status updates. I know I did the same thing so I could get a better feel for how the hash tags work.

Would you like to take a glance at the popular topics on Twitter without signing up for the site? If so, use Twitter search to locate exactly what people are talking about this very moment. Have you ever used Google trends to get ideas for writing a Hub? If not I recommend both Twitter search and Google trends for pin pointing the popular topics of the moment, which are valuable for garnering some search engine traffic.

However, ever green topics such as home repair and crafting are also good to write about, but try using Twitter search to see if anyone is talking about a particular project more than others. Around Halloween you might see a lot of people Twittering about pumpkin carving, so that might be a good topic to write a Hub or blog about if you are stumped at the moment.

Today I typed in my home town and I saw there were quite a few websites promoting the local weather and blogs about local events, which was pretty cool. Being a citizen journalist and sharing tidbits about what is happening in your town is a good way to bring local interest to your website. Twitter is another way to let people know what you are talking about, especially if you are looking for a niche audience, or want people from a particular town to become regular traffic to your website.

Also, I searched Hubpages on Twitter search and I found quite a few of us are sharing links there. After that I typed in Blogger, Facebook, and the list goes on. It is easy to actually waste quite a bit of time doing that, but searching Twitter might be a good way to learn about popular topics to write about for your hubs. Just a suggestion, but it has given me a few ideas from time to time.

Often I forget to log into Myspace and Facebook, but a simple way to update these sites is via twitter.  Often I notice one of my newer hub gets traffic from Myspace or Facebook, and I was baffled because I had not logged into either social networking platform for a few days.  However, I quickly realize that the automatic twitter updates were a good way to keep my other profiles fresh and up to date.

Today I read a blog written by someone who said no one over thirty should be using Facebook or Twitter. I just laughed when I saw this because who gets to dictate how others spend their free time. I used to spend a lot of time on the political forums, but I grew weary of the toxic behavior there on the part of a few who do not like seeing others points of view. Instead of wasting my time doing that I now like to update my other social networks, work on my blogs, and see what other people are writing and submitting to Twitter.

Sometimes I would just like to share a picture on Twitter, and I discovered the YFrog makes this possible. Have a cool picture from your Hub, and are you looking for a way to get a bit of extra traffic? One thing your could do is try posting an image or two to YFrog along with a short description of the link to your hub. The nice thing about this site is you can see the photos people have recently submitted to Twitter, and those who are the most active on the site. If you are anything like me you enjoy looking at pictures from around the world, and doing that is much more entertaining than listening to a few sour grapes expressing their over the top outrage about Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize.

Also, it never hurts to promote your hubs and blogs, especially if you have a few that you are especially proud of. Also, I enjoy using Twitter to let the world know about website and hubs people have written that I truly enjoyed. To me it is just a fun way to share, and much less prickly than the forum. I have become a Twitter addict overnight, and you might just become one too!