Building a community conversation is a monumental challenge for an academic institution in higher education.

Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn as social networking hubs are thriving and ever evolving in the most verbose way.

Twitter says more with less. In the Twitter world, a 140 character message is the vehicle. Twitter reminds you of the fundamental principles of advertising writing - AIDA. Attention, Interest, Desire and Action...a short and sweet attempt to spread the word. This leverages the WOM factor as well as establishing Social Media Capital (according to Seth Godin).

In higher education, you have little time to engage your audience, so why not offer them the opportunity to engage with you where they spend their time?

Twitter your Student Events, your school closings, your "Code Red"....Twitter is going to help change how we communicate in communities, it already has.

Check out Twitter, it isn't just for "Twits".