This post was originally submitted on my blog, http://www.jesskupferman.com but I thought it would be appropriate to share here as well.

Lately I’ve seen many Facebook status updates and overheard conversations (yes, I’m an eavesdropper) where people just talk about how much they hate Twitter and how useless it is.

Sometimes this type of conversation makes me think of other things that people hated in the past – because it was different, or because they didn’t know or understand what it was. I hesitate to use the “R” word – but I will say that as a minority in this country, I’ve been involved in enough conversations about race, religion and sex to know “hate is derived from ignorance and/or fear.” And I think it’s true in Twitter’s case as well.

Most people sign up for a Twitter account and then tweet something to the effect of “Just trying out Twitter,” or “Tweeting for the first time,” or the slightly negative “Trying to figure out this Twitter thing.”

And then, that’s the only thing they ever tweet.

I wonder, have the Twitter haters ever made an effort to “get to know” Twitter? If they ever Googled “how to use Twitter,” they would know that you can get the best use out of Twitter in 2 major ways: as a research tool, and as an audience builder.

Following people who are tweeting about subjects you are interested in. How do you find those people? Do a search under the search link at the bottom of the page, and search for that subject. In my case it was “graphic design” or “web design” although I’ve found some great people to follow just typing in where I live as well. There’s such a wealth of information out there about every single subject!

Tweeting links to interesting articles you read. This helps people who are interested in the subjects YOU are interested in find you, and follow you. Then you build an audience, and look like an expert in whatever you’re tweeting about.

Yes, it takes a little time to build a following, but it’s also fascinating to watch over time to see how fast it grows. Yes, at first it’s silly to tweet to…well, no one, if your followers are few and far between. But most people find that the more people they follow, the more follow back! That and a compelling 1-line bio will attract you to thousands.

There are so, so many links and blogs and books out there about how to use Twitter and why it’s great, and this post isn’t meant to do that. It’s mainly a blast to tell the haters – don’t hate what you don’t understand.