Twitter. You either get it... or you don't. Get it!

Twitter. You either get it ... or you don't.

Most people don't get it right away. Many try it and then leave scratching their head. Then they hear people talking about it again and they come back and try it again... and THEN they get it. That's when I got it.

What is Twitter? (http://www.twitter.com) Twitter is where you can share your thoughts in 140 characters or less with the world (or at least with those following you). The official definition on their site is - Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?

Oh yeah, Twitter is free!

If you haven't signed up for Twitter. Maybe it's time you give it a go? If nothing else...perhaps you should sign up to secure your eBay seller's name or your real name before someone else gets it. Yes, people will sign up and claim other people's names if they think they can somehow gain from it. Either by getting people to "follow" them thinking they are someone else, or to grab it up hoping to "sell" access to it later to the person who owns the name.

Some people have a few followers. They communicate with their family or their friends. Some people have hundreds, some even thousands. Some of the really big boys, have tens of thousands! Many people use it as a business tool. Some to grow their business, some to cultivate the contacts they already have. Some employers communicate with their employees via Twitter, some are allowing their employees to Twitter with each other and the outside world.

There are so many people Twittering that many have created outside applications that work with Twitter... to help you Twitter more efficiently, or just so that you can have more fun Twittering. I've inluded a few that I use at the end of this article. Search Twitter in Google and you'll find even more.

You can learn alot by Twittering. During the recent tropical storm Fay, someone at the local news was sending out Tweets anytime there was breaking news relating to Fay. I often knew before other people knew. I get regular breaking news from a local TV station, I get the daily weather, I get national breaking news as it happens.

I am notified when my favorite bloggers update. I learn from the discussions that go on between other Internet Marketers. I find out about impromptu chats or video sessions I can take part in. I sometimes just read an enlightening quote or a funny joke. I may be presented with the opportunity to pray for someone or I might just hear what a friend is having for dinner or that another friend is having a profitable day.

Do you sell on eBay? If so, you can use Twitter to notify your customers of new listings, special deals or just share some news with them!

When I update my blog, the people who follow me on Twitter are notified right away. Sometimes, I use my mobile phone and send images to my Twitter account. Sometimes I send short 12 sec video clips. Sometimes I Twitter on the go, sometimes I twitter while I'm working and sometimes I Twitter because I'm bored.

Sometimes I share thoughts related to online marketing, sometimes I share my thoughts on life. Occasionally, I may share religious or political thoughts. But mostly, I just share what I'm doing at the time... which, in all honestly, is sometimes just plain boring!

Why do I Twitter? I Twitter because I can!

Follow me on Twitter by going to http://twitter.com/rtungett

For a more in depth report on Twitter, get your Free copy of The Twitter Report at:
http://tinyurl.com/twitterhints


Tweet on!
Robbin


You can find a selection of Twitter downloads at:
http://twitter.com/downloads

Here are a few Twitter apps that I use:

• twitpic.com - Share your photos on Twitter
• twitterfeed.com - Automatically Twitters when my blogs are updated
• twitdir.com - A Twitter Directory
• 12seconds.tv - Share 12 sec videos on Twitter
• tweetdeck.com - Desktop App for Twitter
• tweetscan.com - Search Twitter
• twittervision.com - Fun to watch as Tweets come in from all over the world
• twittersnooze.com - "Quiet" someone who's tweeting too much for a specified amount of time
  

Want to find even more? Check out http://twitter.pbwiki.com
(Make sure you have plenty of time on your hands because there are lots of links on that page!)



Follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/rtungett

Feel free to comment here with you Twitter ID if you want some more followers!

eBay Reduces Fixed Price Listing Fees 70%

The following was taken from the eBay website:

eBay supports sellers with 70 percent reduction in fixed price listing fee.

• Starting Sept. 16, we are dramatically reducing up-front risk for sellers of Buy It Now™ fixed price items by lowering our listing (insertion) fee to 35 cents – our most competitive pricing ever. For more information on Basic Fee Changes, please click here.
• Listing duration for Buy It Now™ fixed price items will be extended to 30 days (up from seven), saving sellers time and money.
• In the extremely competitive media categories (books, movies, music, games), we are further lowering listing fees on Buy It Now™ fixed priced items to 15 cents (5 cents for catalog-based listings).
• We are shifting fees to the back end with final value fees, which sellers only pay if they’re successful. However, we are reducing final value fees for consumer electronics, cameras and computers, which are among the most competitive categories on the web.

Buyers will find more bargains faster through a streamlined shopping experience and improved search.

• Starting Sept. 16, buyers will be able to spot bargains faster through our improved search function that serves up auctions and fixed-price items in a streamlined view.
• “Ending soonest” remains a key factor in search results for auctions items. So if a seller’s item is in auction format, the item will at some point come up in search results. In Best Match – eBay’s default sort method – there are many different weights which determine the sort order. On fixed-price items the most important determinants are DSRs and item relevance.

We’re encouraging sellers to offer free or reasonable shipping.

• To lower shipping costs across the site we’re establishing reasonable shipping & handling limits in one of our biggest categories — media (books, movies, music & video games). This means that sellers must offer one domestic shipping option that’s under the limit or opt to use the eBay shipping calculator.
• This holiday season, eBay is also providing incentives to offer free shipping, including increased exposure in search and other discounts. PowerSellers can receive double their final value fee discounts — up to a 40 percent savings on their final value fees.

Paying on eBay will be faster and more reliable than ever.

• Starting this fall, we’re moving to a fully electronic checkout process that’s faster and more reliable for buyers and sellers. As part of this move, checks and money orders will no longer be accepted on eBay as of October 2008, although buyers can still use these payment methods for item pick-up, at the seller’s discretion.
• It’s clear why we need to make this change. Today, items paid with check or money order are 80 percent more likely to result in a customer complaint than those paid with credit card or PayPal. Also, buyers who pay with check or money order are twice as likely to leave negative feedback than those who pay with electronic methods. So starting in late October 2008, we are moving to 100 percent electronic payments.
• This means that sellers will still be able to offer credit card payments through their own merchant accounts, and payments through ProPay and/or PayPal, with all payment methods integrated into the checkout process on eBay. And remember, for those buyers and sellers who use PayPal, we’re backing every transaction with our buyer and seller guarantee.

Awesome New Web Site Creation Tool - Try it Free!

Whether you're selling on eBay or doing any kind of business online, you need to have a website.

I've been around for years and I've seen lots of website creation tools come and go, but this one truly is as easy as it can get!

I've been playing with this all morning and after seeing how EASY it REALLY is to use, I just HAD to tell you about it!

So many of you want to build websites but don't know how and can't afford to pay someone to do it for you.

THIS is the solution for you!

Create your Free account and check it out!

http://tinyurl.com/6arlf7

Have fun and be sure to share your creations with me!

Robbin

Stomach turning warning for my readers...

I received a disturbing email this week from someone I regularly recommend to you.

Leo Quinn has been a personal finance educator since 1997.

One of his readers is now $10,000+ deeper in debt because she sought help from one of the big names in the "get out of debt" business. (ironic, I know)

Leo wants to get the word out so others don't fall for the same sleazy tactics.

Sadly this gentleman's program is sold by probably the biggest and oldest self-development company in the country.

Without naming names here is what you should be wary of...

• They advertise a lot on radio.
• They encourage you to call for a free CD.
• The program sells for $99 or so.
• They then will try to sell you on their coaching program.
  

Here is the disturbing part...from the email Leo received...

"They sold me the coaching program before I even received the ($99) materials. There are three levels, 1 year for $14,955, 9 months for $13,195, 6 months for $11,435 and 3 months for $7095. They sell you whatever will fit on your credit cards, or they will finance it, if you qualify. I ended up with a 3 month program for $7095, which (saleperson) had figured out and split up on the available balances on three of my credit cards before I could blink, let alone think."

What particularly disgusts me about this is that they survey you about the amount of debt AND how much room you have on your credit cards and push you toward the "level" you can "afford".

There is no way they can justify making people go $7095+ deeper into debt for "get out of debt" coaching.

So let this message be a warning to you and feel free to forward it to all your friends and relatives.

Leo suggests if you should ever get scammed out of a large sum of money like this, immediately call your credit card company and have them reverse the charges.

Some states have laws about "cooling off periods" after signing contracts. Look into that as well.

If you are behind on some bills and they are causing you a lot of stress, find some local help from: http://www.debtadvice.org/TakeTheFirstStep/locator.cfm

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Leo Quinn is author of Own Your Own Paycheck Again
http://www.leoquinn.com/cmd.php?af=255369

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