Are you addicted to Twitter like I am? Yes this sounds a little crazy, following people and letting people follow you. Once you get past the creepy factor, Twittering is actually such a great source for news and informational tid bits.

According to Social Times, Compete just released this month’s statistics and unsurprisingly, Twitter had a big month, growing around 33 percent over the past month, just within the United States. Twitter is definitely the buzz in the social media realm.

If you decide to join the craze, here are a few pointers based on my experience from Twittering:

1. Twitter is for sharing, communicating and it’s a 2 way thing. It’s nice to see some action on your posts and replies - be social!

2. Please don’t make your site look like a cheesy My Space site. Leave it for your My Space. It’s not pleasant to see sparkling banners and animated objects fly across your page.

3. As I mentioned in the first point, make your site personal. It’s a social site, so please have an avatar and a little summary of yourself. People need to have a reason to “follow you”.

4. Please, this is not a dating site…but hey, whatever works.

5. If you follow way more people that follow you back, this may be a problem. This means again, you are not contributing to the Twitter community.

6. Communicate things that are meaningful…don’t just spam, it’s the quickest way to loose followers.

7. We all try to find ways to promote ourselves, our businesses, our work…Don’t just use Twitter as a platform for posting your blogs and promoting your business. Again, as mentioned in points 1 and 3, it’s not just a one-way thing.

8. Ask questions! The community will respond! It’s a great place to bounce back ideas.

9. Keep your posts short and sweet. You’re only allowed 140 characters.

10. Final and most important point: Be honest, be true and have fun Twittering!

If you decide to join the craze, you can follow me at: www.twitter.com/partly_sunny

Sunny Shum, Your Industry Insider