Twitter is the extremely popular, almost ubiquitous, microblogging service. Users can post updates of 140 characters or less, and can follow several people or organizations, creating conversations and community in the process.
One of the great advantages of Twitter is that it is extremely mobile. You can receive messages via text to your mobile phone, the mobile web, or through several applications for smart phones.
Applications, such as Tweetdeck, Seesmic, and HootSuite make it easier to manage your presence, as well as pay attention to what people are saying.
Some examples of Twitter…
@BayBridgeInfo is the official conduit for news and information about the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. This includes closures for construction and maintenance and the design of the new span.
@BikePortland is the Twitter profile for BikePortland.org. They use Twitter to broadcast bicycling news in and around Portland, issues concerning cycling, and any news stories that feature ubran cycling. They also use it as a platform to promote their blog posts and engage their followers in a dialog about biking in the Pacific Northwest.
@caltrain is a Twitter account set up by Caltrain riders to broadcast service alerts and other updates about the Caltrain system. This Twitter account was established to fulfill a need not met by Caltrain, namely convenient and timely updates. The service relies on Caltrain riders to share updates. More information can be found here.
@ctatweet republishes CTA Alerts without requiring them to sing up for the system, as well as allow CTA riders to post their own news about specific lines. CTA Tweet is a user-driven service that fills a need that CTA does not provide solutions for.
@DB_Info provides followers information about services disruptions for Deutsche Bahn lines. They also provide updates about promotions and other changes to services.
@DCMetroGreen is an unofficial Twitter feed for the Washington DC Metro Green line. More information can be found at Metrotweet.
@FreeLATraffic uses an RSS feed from Greater Los Angeles Sigalert to automatically broadcast in Twitter. This way followers receive updates about Los Angeles traffic as part of their Twitter feed.
I Will Ride on Twitter
File under: Twitter
@IWillRide is the Twitter stream for I Will Ride. They use Twitter to provide live commentary of relevant public meetings and workshops, as well as update their followers about developments to the project.
@KanBikeWalk uses Twitter to broadcast stories about transportation safety in Kansas that affect bicyclists and pedestrians. Their tweets are added content from their website.
@MetroLibrary updates followers with news from the Los Angeles Metro. They tweet about library happenings, transportation issues related to the Los Angeles metropolitan area, and other interesting bits from the transportation world.
