Unless you're in a tech oriented field or a figurehead of popular culture, it's often hard to find value in Twitter's limited functionality. This sentiment holds especially true as its use applies to businesses. Most people are quick to dismiss Twitter as a non-sensicle indulgence for social junkies to alert the world to what they had for breakfast, however it's all a matter of perspective.

Twitter, when used the right way, can be a great way to connect with your local community. If you're in hospitality, food service, retail or any other type of B2C organization that thrives off a hyper-local audience, you might want to consider the Tweet as a welcomed addition to your guerilla marketing suite.

I had the opportunity to speak with a friend who has connected his entire neighborhood to his Twitter network. Anytime a restaurant or bar is not filling their numbers for the night, they contact him with an e-Special and he beams out to all of the nearby residents following him on Twitter. This has proven wildly successful, with at least a 15-40% raise in occupancy on any given night from a simple tweet. The locals love it because they get last-minute deals that wouldn't be available otherwise and the shops gain a direct medium to their most relevant audience.

This is a great example of extracting value from something that would otherwise be considered a hype driven e-fad. GO TWITTER!