"This is awesome, this is amazing!" I interrupt my activity to look at my husband, his face filled with excitement. "You must go onto twitter, this is so cool!" Tw.... what?! Not knowing what he was going on about, it daunted on me that this might be another competition to our Sunday beach mission with the dogs like Facebook was when he first got onto it - and I was right. I listed twitter for now in my list of 'things that prevent us to spend time away from a PC' and ticked off the beach walk.

In a household were latest online marketing trends are part of a usual dinner conversation, it is only natural that the latest online trends and gadgets do not stop in front of our doorstep but rather come up straight onto our PC screens. And not only that, in our household even Joomla and Skype have a different meaning - the content management system Joomla! as well as the communication software Skype are no longer only used in terms of technology, but they are also the names of our two labrador dogs. I tried to ignore the regular outbursts coming from my husband and put the twitter thing on hold. Until one day, my husband got my curiosity "you have to sign up Exclusive Serenity as well, there is so much travel stuff out there". Hm. Well, if he is so excited, it must be something good so despite my regrets of having missed that beach walk the previous Sunday, I decided to check it out. I must have expected something like Facebook which is easy and fun to use. Twitter however took me a bit longer to find my way around (and I was still upset about the missed walk on the beach which might have influenced my efficiency). Proud to have successfully passed the sign up process, I stared at my screen, waiting for a miracle to happen or at least something that would make me as excited as my husband. Nothing happened. Realizing that I needed some insider tips, I consulted my husband over a glass of wine the following evening. It sounded awkward to me, to follow people and think of something intelligent to say which would be relevant to the few followers I had. But then suddenly, it became crystal-clear and started making sense - and the excitement started to kick in. Finally, I had so many things to say and share and got into the twitter mood. But not only the twitter mood had changed, when I heard my husband announcing that dinner was ready. "Hold on, this is awesome, I just need to put something else onto twitter!" Be careful who you teach...

By Melanie Floor