This is the start of a series on social media for the human resource professional. This week we look at Twitter.

Twitter, the very popular microblogging system, has grown in leaps and bounds over the past year (825%), compared to Facebook and LinkedIn. At its core, Twitter asks a very simple question: What are you doing now? and gives you 140 characters to answer. You follow people, and people follow you. The people who follow you are called your "tweeple." It's a real-time application like instant messaging, so whenever you update your status those who are following you get notified. The messages you send are called tweets. Most people use it for fun and to connect with others, businesses use it to attract new clients and build relationships. As an HR pro, you can use Twitter in a variety of ways. Here are ten cool ways to start.

1. Use Twitter as a way to keep your finger on the pulse of what's being talked about in your industry. Go to Twitter Search and search for topics or keywords relating to your industry. You can then get incoming notifications, and also send tweets, by downloading Twitter Deck, an app that sits on your desktop

2. Post a job opening. As Twitter is a real-time application, and as people are always watching new posts, you will get speedy replies - within seconds, literally.

3. Conduct a mini poll. Ask questions about things related to your industry, or start up a conversation about an industry issue or problem.

4. If you hold free webinars, let people know that it is starting soon and how they can join in. You can also ask for recommendations on future webinar topics.

5. Stay in touch with colleagues, especially if you telecommute. You can use it to let others know what you're up to during the day. For example, "Waiting for the conference call from Texas to start," lets your colleagues know that you're not lying on your couch taking a nap.

6. Find out what others in your industry are up to. People often tweet that they are "getting ready to attend the conference in Maine" or something similar. If you happen to be going to that same conference, you can look them up while you are there. Tweeters use hashtags to make related tweets searchable. For example, this conference in Maine may be marked as #MAINE. Someone can tweet, "Who wants to meet up for lunch at #MAINE?" This way, too, you can search for who will be there

7. Mingle with the big-wigs in your industry and create "soft" relationships; that is, get your name known.

8. Let your Twitter community know when you have posted an article or blog post.

9. Get opinions from others by drawing on their collective wisdom. If you are checking out a vendor, for example, you can send out a tweet asking if anyone has used this vendor before, or ask for recommendations.

10. Use Twitter as your news source. Some people no longer subscribe to news feeds or read newspapers. Instead they use Twitter to stay up-to-date as it breaks news faster than other sources.

For best results when using Twitter this way, it is important to build up a large list of followers. Spend some time each day building who you follow, and that will encourage others to follow you. The quickest way to get started is to find someone who follows lots of other people and/or who has lots of followers. Get into their list of who they are following (on the right under Stats) and choose whom you wish to follow. If you know absolutely no one on Twitter, simply go to Twitter Search and key in the topic or industry you are interested in, and see what pops up.

When using Twitter for business, it is important to follow people who will be an asset to you. Don't just follow any and every person who follows you. It's best to be selective.

When using social media tools in general, it is also important to decide on your objective before choosing a specific technology. It's best not to choose a technology just because you hear that it is popular. You must understand the usage patterns of the audience you are targeting, and pick specific strategies based on the behaviors of that target audience.

For example, Generation-Y is the largest group of five separate major demographics - professionals, baby boomers, geeks, women, and Generation-Y - that is engaged in social media, but mainly as content creators; that is they write blogs, post videos, etc. On the other hand, baby boomers are engaged in social media, but mainly as spectators, not as content creators. They will read blogs, watch videos, but they won't create it.

Therefore, as an HR pro, you need to understand the group you are targeting. If you wish to improve your process by engaging baby boomers, for example by having them on board as part of your development team, you attract them by creating meaningful content as they themselves don't create much content. If you wish to engage Generation Y, you can do so by getting them to create content.

I will go into more detail on demographics and social media in a future blog post.

Share your ideas on how you have been using Twitter.