Last night I attended a "tweet-up" in Columbia, where a group of local "tweeters" got together to put a face to the usernames they have been following on the ever-growing social media tool Twitter.

If you are unfamiliar with Twitter, it is a network of microblogs among users where you are asked to blog or "tweet" in 140 characters or less about the one question; "What are you doing?" You might question why anyone would want any of this information—but if you look at the growing trends of reality tv and other social media outlets like Myspace and Facebook, it is evident that this information is exactly what people want to know. In fact, one of the things that people praised Twitter for repeatedly at the event was the fact that Twitter has now become one of the fastest channels of communication available.

No longer is there a need for the middleman investigator to report a current event to a local paper or television station. Now news comes straight from the Blackberry of the observer in the actual moment of the event. Read on CNN how the first photos of the Hudson River plane crash showed up on Twitter before they ever hit the stands.

The event was a perfect introduction to the people who are connected in the area and understand how to use social media to their everyday advantage. We are looking forward to delving in to the twitter scene more ourselves so be sure to look for Orange Element's on twitter @orange_element

As a way to kick-off our Twitter presence, here is a link to a handful of Twitter tools for today's freebie and if you search #mdsocial on twitter you can find a list of interesting people who attended the event that you should follow! Hopefully you can join at the next event! Happy Friday!