If you’re online and looking to have your finger on the pulse of the latest in technology and web trends, Twitter is where you need to be.   Why?  Simply put, it’s the best way to get up-to-the-minute information on topics relevant to you.

I’ve been using Twitter as YFNCG for a few months now, following people in the tech industry, along with small business advocates, a handful of bloggers, and some friends.  I’m picky about who I follow.  I want to make sure that they are providing useful information that I can benefit from.  I also try to pass on the best of the informaiton I find to my twitter followers.  It’s tough to keep up with it all sometimes, but the beauty of twitter is that you don’t HAVE to keep up.  You just jump in the stream when you’re ready, soak up the info of the moment, contribute a bit of your own, and jump out when you’re done.

If you’re a computer tech and you doubt the usefulness of Twitter, allow me to present 5 ways in which you can gain significant value from this FREE tool.

1. Latest Tech News - Follow folks like @techcrunch, @CNETNews, @Wired, and most any other technology new source you can think of to see a constant real-time stream of the latest tech happenings.
2. Relevant Timely Opinions From Your Peers - Follow other computer geeks on Twitter to see what have to say about what’s going on in the world.  Most of the time, they’ll give insightful opinions, post relevant links, or share useful nuggets of knowledge.
3. Deals On Gear - Vendors like HP, NewEgg, and TigerDirect tweet their latest deals, specials, and limited offers.  Dell takes top prize, however, with a whole page of twitter accounts!!
4. Get Answers - Computer problem got you stumped?  Want to test out an idea?  Once you’ve gathered a decent list of followers, conduct a mini-poll by asking a question and waiting for responses.  There are a lot of intelligent folks using twitter and you’ll be surprised at the insights you can gain.
5. Learn to be succinct - This is an often overlooked skill that can be developed by tweeting often.  You learn to summarize what you need to say with 140 characters.  It’s tough at first.  Learn to translate this skill to your clients to help avoid over complicated tech-speak that will normally confuse the average customer.

Find out how to harness the power of twitter now, because I only see it growing in the next few years.

Who do YOU like to follow on Twitter?