I'm old. I know, it's not something many folks (especially those who covet the newest technologies) like to brag about. But I'm not 20, 30, or even 40 anymore. The problem with this (in the area of high tech) is, if I'm old, then my friends are … well, you can complete the inference.

So when cool tech conversations get into the realm of text messaging (which we discussed a few Working Smarter columns ago), I have to admit to not being an avid user. Few of my friends have adopted this technology (except, perhaps, to stay in touch with their kids). But, ask Gen Xers, and especially Gen Yers, and you'll find that texting, not e-mail, is the preferred mode of communication.

But do they tweet - i.e., do they use Twitter? Many of them do. More importantly, should we tweet?

Twitter (www.twitter.com) allows you to keep friends/followers abreast of what you're doing. Right now. And succinctly, in 140 characters or less. If you're a Gen Yer and haven't used it, think of it as the status update you'd enter at the top of your Facebook homepage. If you're a Boomer, well, your point of reference is probably, why would anyone want to know what I'm doing right now … and why would I want to tell them?

You choose to follow folks whom you know. And they can follow you. You can tweet from your mobile device or from your PC. It's quick, easy, and, I gotta say, way too much fun.

Did I mention that organizations are using Twitter to improve communications at their meetings? For the past few years, the American Library Association's (ALA) annual conference has used a wiki (http://wikis.ala.org/annual2008/index.php/Main_Page)  to foster Web 2.0 communications at its event. This year, I noticed a link to a Twitter mashup page, Twemes (www.twemes.com/ala2008), on ALA's wiki that allowed conference-goers to tweet back and forth before, during, and after the conference.

ALA is hardly alone. Jet Blue twitters with its customers (http://twitter.com/JetBlue). Online shoe retailer Zappos uses it extensively as a customer communication tool (http://twitter.com/zappos). Nearly 5,000 people follow Jet Blue's tweets, and more than 15,000 people are tuned it to the tweets of Zappos' CEO. A Starbucks twitter, you ask? More than 3,000 followers (http://twitter.com/Starbucks). And what about a Jim Spellos twitter? Yep(http://twitter.com/jspellos) - though I'd like to get my number of followers into double digits one day!

When I was a kid, a TV show hosted by Art Linkletter had a segment called "Kids Say the Darndest Things." Today we could call it "Gen Y'ers Do the Darndest Things." Al Gore could host it - he was the one that started this whole Internet thing anyway, wasn't he? As I'm writing this, he has been quoted as saying he'd "be on Twitter by tomorrow." Hey, if a politician can keep his comments to 140 characters, maybe there's hope for the rest of us.

Working Smarter Take Away

What the companies that are Twittering (tweeting?) share is an exceptional dedication to customer service. And isn't that what our industry is supposed to about?

I can hear my peers now: "Wait, I've just started to blog!" "I've finally figured out RSS!" "I have an avatar on Second Life! Now you want me to tell everyone what I'm doing at this very instant?" Maybe tweeting isn't for you personally, but it might be for your attendees. Or the people to whom you want to market your event or property. What about using Twitter to communicate last-minute updates and critical info to conference-goers? Or, if you're a hotelier, how about Twittering about what's new and cool at your property?

James Spellos, CMP, (jspellos@meeting-u.com) is founder and president of Meeting U., which provides customized training solutions for the meeting professional. A certified Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS), he has 16-plus years of computer training, software training, meeting planning education, and technology consulting experience.

Working Smarter is sponsored by PSAV Presentation Services, www.psav.com.