The critics are having a heyday with Twitter.  If you’re not listening to someone go on and on about how great it is, you’re probably listening to someone who’s making fun of it.

You’ve heard the criticisms.  It’s narcissistic volunteer voyeurism at its worse.  It’s nothing more than gobs of self-important people sharing the mundane details of their not-so-exciting lives.  How can Twitter be the next big thing?  Are there really that many people who care what everyone else is making for supper?

Hey, there’s a lot of truth to the criticisms.  There’s a part of the Twitter community that is droning on and on about the minutiae of every day existence.  It would be a mistake, however, to think that’s what the whole thing is really all about.
We’re talking about millions of users and millions more to come.  People with defined interests creating social networks with one another and communicating together.

If you’re a marketer and you’re laughing at Twitter with the critics, the joke is on you.  Beyond the silliness lies a great deal of potential.  There are few ways to reach as many people so easily with a well-targeted marketing message.

When you’re done laughing, start making some money!

Those of us who’ve been around the block a few times can get a little gun-shy about hopping on the latest “big thing”.  We’ve seen popular trends and sites that the world gushed over go cold and dead more than once.  We’ve seen the “game changers” quickly transform into a standard-issue piece of the process.

That’s probably why some of us have been reluctant to get going with a plan to leverage the power of Twitter to improve our marketing.  We’re just suspicious and cynical enough to wonder if this is just another fad.

There’s no way to say definitively that Twitter is going to be a big piece of the Internet landscape in five years.  There’s no way to say what’s going to be happening with the web in five years.  Anyone who claims to know is feeding you a line.

It is, however, safe to say that Twitter is going to keep growing through 2009 and that it’s unlikely to collapse any time soon.  This is one of those trends that hasn’t yet reached its peak and even if that peak hits soon, the fall-off will take awhile to really set in.

Here’s the good news.  Unlike those other situations where it was necessary to act at the beginning of the trend to make money, there’s still plenty of marketing room in Twitter.  It’s not virgin territory, but all things considered, not many marketers have really tapped into its potential yet.

Don’t be cynical or suspicious this time around.  This one’s the real deal.  It’s going to stick for awhile and the moneymaking potential is strong.

When a plane crashed and the big news crews didn’t yet have anyone on the scene, they relied on Twitter reports from eye witnesses to patch together what had really happened.

Actor Ashton Kutcher made headlines on all the gossip rags and entertainment shows when he snapped a photo of Demi Moore’s derriere and shared it with the world.  How did he distribute the photo?  He posted the link on Twitter.

Laid off people are finding jobs with Twitter.  Grandma’s are Tweeting to granddaughters.  College students are Tweeting back and forth in the classroom.  Twitter is everywhere, from the kids in the skate park to the senior reporter at National Public Radio.  It’s only a matter of time before we here about the first marriages between folks who met on Twitter.

Twitter is the big story.  Millions of users.  Millions more to come.  It’s growing fast and it’s being used for every purpose under the sun.  That means there’s a place for you on Twitter even if your girlfriend isn’t an actress, you haven’t witnessed a disaster and you’re not looking for a job.

Here’s a hint.  Millions of people.  Interests of all sorts.  Easy to make connections.  Pushbutton simple to share a link with the world.

Are you putting this all together?  It’s a smart marketer’s dream.  When we first started thinking about the potential of social networking as a marketing tool, we couldn’t have dreamed up a better scenario.

Get busy.

Once upon a time, Wordpress was one of many little blogging platforms a person could choose to use. Today, it’s the top dog in the world of blogging. What allowed it to crush the competition and to become such a powerful force online?

Part of it was the simple fact that it’s a good product. It works and it works well.

There was something else at play, too, though. It was a collection of coders and fans who developed a massive array of plug-ins and widgets to increase the utility and functionality of Wordpress.

Today, Twitter is following the Wordpress success plan. They’ve made their API available and now we’re seeing the creation of dozens of tool designed to make Twitter user easier and more productive.

Do you need the tools to use Twitter? No. You don’t need Askiment to run Wordpress, either. Those extras, however, make the tools more functional and a lot more attractive.

Twitter continues to grow. That’s definitely being encouraged by some great third-party tool developments.

Do you ever follow those people on Twitter who don’t have photos? I’ll be honest: Unless I know the individual associated with the profile personally, I don’t.

That’s not because I hate that little default graphic Twitter supplies (although I do). It’s mainly because experience has shown me that 99% of the accounts that don’t have a picture belong to spammers and robot accounts–not the kind of “people” I need in my social network.

So, if you don’t have a picture for your Twitter profile, I’m not following you. And I’m not alone.

You look suspicious. You don’t appear to be invested in participating. You bear a strange resemblance to a spambot. That’s not your best look.

If you don’t have a picture up yet, get one there now. If, for some reason, you don’t have a little picture of yourself, find a stock photo of a cottonwood tree on a summer day or a cute puppy or something. Just put something in that space.

Let us know that you’re a real person. Please.