The Purpose of Twitter

I’ve noticed a few complaints on Twitter about people using the site as more of an advertising forum than a social network. Personally I appreciate finding out about free books and great blog posts on Twitter. However, I don’t enjoy it when one person makes posts only minutes apart about something they are promoting. I also like to see what people are doing and enjoy replying to the occasional question.

If you use Twitter, what is your opinion?

I’d like to use Twitter appropriately, but am a little confused about its purpose and the correct way to use it as a social tool. The biggest things that throws me is the best way to reply to a tweet. When I want to reply should I hit reply, or is there a more socially correct way to respond? I heard it should be done privately, but how?

I would love to hear opinions and suggestions on how to best use Twitter. If you’d like to follow me, you will find me @kimberlyrosejoh