Social media and networking have become such a huge influence on our world, and its something that Moms in particular can use to their advantage. No Yummy Mummy needs to be sitting at home feeling isolated anymore when she can just hop on Twitter and connect with other moms who feel the same way!

You've probably heard of Twitter by now, even if just by seeing a link to it on your favourite blogs sidebar. Its a “micro-blogging” service, where you can send your thoughts out to anyone using Twitter – as long as your thoughts are expressed in 140 characters or less. This is called Tweeting, and the messages you send are called Tweets.

What about my privacy? Can anyone read my tweets?
Fortunately, Twitter offers an option to let you keep your account private, so that you can control who sees your tweets.

I'm already on Facebook. What good is Twitter?
Facebook is great for having a personalized mini-website, with easy storage for your photos, links of interest, and notes. It lags behind Twitter, however, when it comes to capabilities for real-time conversation and keeping up-to-date on what everyone else is talking about.

What? How can I know that?
Okay, here's an example: Last month, the American Idol results show aired at the same time as LOST. I'm a LOST fan, so I'd watch that, but during commercial breaks I could peek over at my Twitter screen and see what people were tweeting about American Idol. I knew when the guest singers rocked the stage or bombed. I knew who was in the bottom three as they got there, all from reading what my friends said!

Why is that useful?
Well, personally, I love being able to talk with multiple friends at once about our mutual interests. Whatever your passion, there's a ton of stuff you could be chatting about: the delightful chocolate truffle brand you just discovered, your son taking his first steps, your teenage daughters hair dye disaster, a song you're listening to, an interesting article you just read, the latest product your business is launching... the list goes on and on.

How do I get started?
Getting started is as easy as going to www.twitter.com and signing up for an account. Make sure you say hello! Then start “following” people, which means their tweets will show up on your screen. I suggest you start by clicking “Find People” in the top right corner of your screen, and then you can follow the lovely ladies who make YummyMummyClub.ca such a blast: @YummyMummyClub, @SharonDV, @RachealMc, @CatMargulis, and @cbernardi are just a few.

Twitter can be very addictive, but it is a great way to communicate quickly during your busy day. Give it a try!

 

Tatiana Powell is an American-born woman that met her husband online, let him whisk her away to Canada, and now, five years later, is a stay-at-home-mom taking care of their February 2009 daughter (and two chihuahuas!)

She spends far too much time playing around on social networks, browsing other mommy blogs, and working on her own website It Was A Very Good Year. She can be found on Twitter under the username @averygoodyear.