If you’re running late on your schedule, and you have a list of things to do a mile long, sometimes writing your blog article is the last thing on your mind.

Luckily, there is a new(ish) phenomenon out there, which has become known as Micro-Blogging.

So, what is it?

Instead of composing a long article in their chosen field, people who are too busy to commit to long and involved posts are putting their thoughts into 140 characters and letting the whole web know what they are up to at the moment.

By reducing the art of blog writing to a sentence or short paragraph at a time, people who would not normally be able to commit to a blog are finding new ways of gaining readerships and selling their business.

Why is it popular?

As the internet grows more streamlined, so our attention levels seem to have decreased. In the days before internet we used to have to trawl through our favorite paper to gain an insight in to what was going on in current affairs or gossip columns.

Now, we can simply log on to our PCs and search for what most appeals to us, without needing patience to hunt out articles, or time to sort the wheat from the chaff. As we get better at searching, so our expectations of having instant news gratification rise.

We are a generation who expects information. Now!

How is it being used for marketing?

Micro-blogging is also making inroads into Internet marketing and other e-commerce endeavours, as it has become one of the most popular ways to gather a huge following of prospective customers through tools like Twitter, Plurk and Tumblr.

Micro-blogging has come a long way from simple applications used as supplementary update platforms for users of social networking sites.

Is it here to stay?

There’s no point adopting new platforms if they are going to fade out as soon as we start to use them to promote our businesses. The good thing is, this new way of communicating looks set to flourish rather than fade. As a nation obsessed with texting instead of e-mailing, micro-blogging satisfies our need to achieve a large amount, in a small space of time.

These micro-blogging tools are increasingly being used to replace one of the most popular pastimes for singles on the web – online dating. It seems that bypassing traditional methods of meeting people has added to the accessibility and interest of the online dating scene. Added to the fact the using these tools are free, many micro-blogging fans are predicting that improved applications are on the way.

Regardless of whether micro-blogging is evolving or not, it seems well worth the time it takes to set up on these popular platforms and join in the throng of busy bloggers.

What micro-blogging platforms are you using?

Please share your views in the comments below.

____________________________________________________________________________