OK, so you’re on Twitter.  Now what?

Twitter is mysterious and funny, quirky and habit-forming.  But you’ve only got 3 people following you!

You need a strategy for making sense of it and for learning how to make it work for you.  Here are some basic rules to get you started.

Rule #1:  Be smart. Even though you’ve only got a handful of followers, anyone might see your tweets.  So, don’t put anything out there that you wouldn’t want a friend, an enemy, a client, your manager, your mother or anybody else to see.

Rule #2:  Decide who you want to be. Tony Hsieh, CEO of online retailer Zappos, once asked the question what would you do and who would you be if you were always on camera?  What kind of person would you want to become if you knew there would be a permanent, written record of everything you ever said?  It’s kind of humbling to think about, but that’s what Twitter does.

Rule #3.  Remember that it’s not all about you. Twitter asks its users what they’re doing.  Ignore that.  Ask yourself instead what your readers are doing and what they might like  know about. They have to get some value out of your messages, or they’ll lose interest and stop following you.  Conversely, tweet about things of interest—topics people may be searching—and your list of followers will grow.

Rule #4.  Get retweeted. Include links to articles you’ve read, YouTube videos you’ve seen, or even your own blog posts.  If people like what you’ve shared, they’ll pass it on and that will grow your following as well.

Rule #5.  Be funny and have fun. In this respect, Twitter is like life in general:  you won’t get very far if you take yourself too seriously.

Twitter is not really as dumb as it seems.

I have to admit, that when I first heard about it, I thought it was a silly idea:  a micro-blogging service that allows users to post short (140 words or less) messages throughout the day that let their friends and associates know what they’re doing.  In fact, the idea of getting dozens of little messages throughout the day from people I know telling me what they were having for breakfast or that they were stopping at the drug store to pick up some toothpaste didn’t really appeal to me.  I thought I had better things to do.

But as it turns out, people are using Twitter in ways never imagined and in so doing, they’re changing marketing, news reporting, and the entire interpersonal communication landscape.

Consider, for example, the role Twitter is playing in delivering the news from Iran in the wake of that country’s June 12th election.  Foreign journalists have been expelled but protesters and eye witnesses who live inside the country have been able to use Twitter to send messages and images to the outside world.  And because there are so many channels for sending Twitter messages (e.g., phone, twitter.com, third-party applications) and so many ways for viewers to receive them, it’s been difficult for the Iranian government to stop the flow of information.

Real estate professionals are also finding real world uses for Twitter.  You can use it to reach your audience, broadcast messages of value, or learn from experts.  Industry information (like this), news about the economy (like this), business and marketing tips (like this):  all can come to your phone in bite-sized bursts so that you stay connected throughout the day.