Sure I’ve read about what a waste of time Twitter is. But I have to disagree. Actually, Twitter has freed up a good chunk of time for me…on a daily basis…since I figured out how to use it.

Yes, I know about the people who only tweet about mundane (alright, inane) happenings – what they’re eating, what they’re feeling, where they’re going, how their favorite television show is so disappointing. So what? Despite those who contend you should follow everyone who follows you (Twitter etiquette?), it’s really an individual decision.

The beauty of Twitter is that you can use it any want you want. Follow the people who are talking about things you’re interested in. Much easier than fretting over how you’ll follow 15,000 people every day. And by the way, you’ll find that most of the people you follow don’t tweet that often anyway. So stop worrying about HOW you’ll do it. Decide what works best for you and move on.

In the same vein, following someone whose tweets begin to bore you? No problem. Just click “un-follow”. There are no hard and fast rules in the Wild West of social media.

As for the time saving statement I made…..let me qualify that. Using Twitter along with Facebook and LinkedIn has freed up gobs of time for me.

Since so many of my colleagues (and some clients) are using these tools, we can communicate with one another via social media or social networking rather than email. Once you’re on one social networking site or page, you can fire off a bunch of messages quickly and move on. Even better, you can post one update, talk about an event or share an article with all of your colleagues at once.

What I’ve found is that instead of finding 300+ emails in my inbox each morning, I might have 75. This means I can whip through emails in 15 – 20 minutes, not the two hours it once took me each day. Sure, part of this is due to the fact that microblogging in 140 characters forces you to be concise. But what’s wrong with that? It doesn’t mean you’re forgetting how to write. It simply makes you a more efficient communicator.

I love the fact that I’m now receiving a whole lot more information that I choose to receive. Tips and tricks that help me work better, faster, smarter. Articles that keep me current on the latest Facebook updates or Twitter tools. I’m not only working more efficiently but I’m getting a wealth of information…in REAL time.

If there’s a downside here, I don’t see it.