140 characters or less please

Why micro-blogging is changing the way we communicate electronically

Writing is evolving. Today we have blogs, micro-blogs, bullets, HTML and texting, all ways to communicate a message. Most of these require and/or suggest fewer characters, leaving you to be creative, clean and straightforward. This changes the game, for some.

In the areas of client and customer messaging, less is more. Tell them what they need to know, now. Not in four, well bodied paragraphs. This is why tools like Twitter and status updates have become great for short blurbs on what is going on in your business world.

Tools like Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn are ways that people can see what you are working on in real time. Posting a twitter update on your client's project can be a great way to give them a shout out and a quick update. Keep it brief and let them know it's getting done and they are on your mind. Leave the details and relevant facts for in depth webpages and report summaries.

Now, just post the update relevant to your audience, if you have more to say, use hyperlinks. A friend of mine is a retired AP journalist and said that hyperlinks are electronic footnotes. In some cases, they can really get your audience connected to new sources, like blogs of people you follow and admire.

Micro-blogging also requires stellar, concise and clear customer service. There are many small, medium and large businesses that have started to have customer service reps monitor micro-blogging sites for their customers. Google is even responding to questions that weren't initially directed at them.

How has the 140 characters or less mentality changed the way you communicate in business, school, or even with friends and family?