I'm really enjoying Twitter and find that it is a great way to find new, relevant contacts. I've connected with others involved in PR and marketing, as well as other writers and bloggers. Twitter can bring you instant sources of information so that you get news almost as it happens.

It is taking up some time here on the front end, mainly from my curiosity in exploring connections to follow and checking out those who are following me. It is also making me blog more frequently. I don't know why, but it is.

I've also launched the DotBizBlog on Blogger. [I've always wanted to use one of their dot templates.] For the time being I will continue to blog in both places on different topics.

http://dotbizblog.blogspot.com/

Having just signed up for Twitter this morning, I'm ready to find out how it can benefit business. I've read what some other bloggers have to say about Twitter and admit that it seems to have multiple benefits.

I think that networking, personal branding, getting feedback and directing traffic to a site are all good reasons to give Twitter a try. The fact that it requires concise comments is an underlying benefit that makes people actually use it.

So, follow me on Twitter. I'm dotbizblog.

PR is all about communicating and Twittering is just the latest...or is it? The Internet changes daily...no faster.

Small business owners tend to think that their businesses aren't large enough to be of public interest. As a result, many don't think that paying to have a professional press release written for them would be worth the expense.

What they're overlooking is the entire Web community and the interest that could be drawn to their company website. Key word releases are an important tool in today's publicity toolbox because they can attract the attention of web surfers and can link back to the company's website.

Many times, small business owners think that their companies are not newsworthy. However, they could have an interesting story to tell in their local market or in their trade press. Again, both of these outlets like interesting, well-written informative articles that interest their readers.

If you decide to take a second look at publicity, should you pursue it yourself or pay someone else to do it for you? I would say that depends on how well you present your story. If you don't think you have anything interesting to tell, then I would say you need someone else to help you discover your story and communicate it to the press.

You also need to be aware that the press is not interested in press releases that are thinly disguised ad copy for your company. They want a story, not a company brochure.

If you haven't considered press releases for your business, I would advise you to move them up on your list...way up.