I had heard about it for awhile now, at numerous conferences, industry leading blogs and through other social networking avenues. It wasn’t until the end of 2007 that I decided to join Twitter to see what the commotion was about. I’ve heard great reviews and much speculation at the same time over this new social medium.

I admit I was a bit skeptical at first when I signed up, ‘followed’ a few people and wrote about what I ate for breakfast that morning in 140 characters or less. It wasn’t until I began following industry leading (and by industry, I mean Social Media:)) bloggers, evangelists and entrepreneurs, that I realized Twitter’s full potential.

As I became more involved in the Twitter community, my ‘inbox’ began to flow with messages, blog posts and links that I would have never seen if it weren’t for Twitter. My knowledge base began to expand with all this new information, as did ideas that I could personally implement into my company’s strategy. I suddenly realized that I was in the middle of a social media informational portal. One of the biggest influencer that I follow is Jeremiah Owyang. From following him alone, I was able to connect with him as well as other industry leaders that provided me with a plethora of information and knowledge that I was able to utilize for myself in my everyday practices. His take on Twitter conversations reiterates my point on involvement and how it can work as a great communication tool, as it has for him.

Still wondering what Twitter is? Take a look for yourself and register with Twitter and feel free to follow me @sonnygill.

Update: So, it’s been two and a half months now since joining and can honestly say I am thankful that I did. I’ve made many powerful connections that have helped me as an emerging social media marketer. Its simple, no frills, give me what I want style of messaging has given marketers a social site where we can openly and freely communicate everyday happenings, events and even start discussions with the industry’s best; all this with just a 140 character message limit.

Update II: To further reiterate my point of connecting with influencers, I recently gained a follower – Andy Sernovitz. For those of you who don’t know, he is the author of Word of Mouth Marketing. Ironically enough, I just began reading his book several weeks ago so I found it astonishing that HE found me on Twitter (or he may just have ESP and know when someone picks up his book.) Nonetheless, it shows Twitter’s power of connection and communication.