Meeting before going to the garden it was clear that all was not quite as it might have been! In order that the 25 recognise each other we were invited to wear a button hole in the true spirit of a blind date. All was going swimmingly with assorted flora being sported until one of our number arrived wearing a half eaten digestive biscuit secured with a badly mis-shapen paperclip!

Perhaps I should explain that this gathering was no ordinary outing but a meeting of gardening enthusiasts of various persuasions found loitering with intent on Twitter and the garden we were to visit was Highgrove, the garden of HRH Prince Charles. The biscuit arrived courtesy of James Alexander-Sinclair which somehow saw the topic of conversation move on to cakes.

Now you would have thought that the often vociferous assembled group would be interested in the organic gardens filled with national plant collections especially as we had the pleasure of a carefully selected volunteer guide with three Chelsea Gold Medals to her name to guide us round. However it was quickly established that cakes would be available for purchase in the tea rooms at which point Barbara Taylor volunteered that she had baked cakes for everyone too! Now our interest was truly roused.

Two cakes for one garden visit!

My thanks go to Helen Johnstone for bringing this to life – it was great to see friends that in some cases have only been known online and to re-acquaint with others met at similar events previously.

It was a pleasure to meet Michelle Chapman, Roland and Jamie Paterson, Rob Stacewicz (who won the prize of some hand cream for his airplant buttonhole), Cleve West and Christine Eatwell, Anne Wareham and Charles Hawes, Zoe Lynch, Jenny Woods, Helen Reeley, Lia Leendertz, Sharon (Plantswoman), James Alexander-Sinclair, Simon and Sherrie Suter, Judith (aka Arabella Sock), Dawn Isaac, the shy and retiring Anne-Marie Powell, Kate Bradbury and her friend Abigail, Barbara Taylor and Deb Bird.

Gardens are a great way of enjoying a summer afternoon and the pleasure is multiplied when it is shared with so many with differing views but a shared passion – even if that appeared to be cake and biscuits.

1. Some people are definitely worth following. The power of their network of followers can work for you. This is not by direct selling but through referrals to people who share a common interest or goal.

2. I have noticed quite a few people who seem to be willing to contribute little in the hope of hitting the big time. I find these characters stand out like a sore thumb and I easily avoid them.

3. Twitter has opened my horizons. The world is my oyster. I can create opportunities for my business. I can communicate effortlessly on a global platform. The possibilities are very exciting.

4. And it’s not just about Twitter. There are a number of add-on features known as API to give you additional functionality programs.

o Tweetdeck lets you manage your followers more effectively.

o Twitter PWR lets you to list unlimited URL links; all connected to you.

o Twitterfall lets you to link in to current hot topics.

o Twibs lets you list your business.

o Tweetlater lets you schedule Tweets for future publication. There are also some fun applications like Tweetstats and Twitpic for uploading pictures.

5. Twitter is starting to make business sense. In less than a month I now have 250+ global followers. I have seen a MASSIVE increase in traffic to my blog and website. I have been requested for appearances to act as an ambassador for garden designers, open school sensory gardens, and as a guest blogger on several influential blog sites.

When I set this against the current economic situation my world looks positively rosy! Have I ‘sold’ anything through Twitter? No. Do I intend ‘selling’ anything through Twitter? Absolutely not! But I can share free advice with an appreciative audience and offer help to those in need of assistance. Will the community benefit? Will I benefit?

I feel like I am already making a difference and I love it! Do I feel more positive and confident about the future? Yes!

Has Twitter played a part? I leave you to be the judge.

As far as a social network is concerned I have a wide circle of contacts through various local events and family life (having 4 children provides me with a “wide” local network). Having moved around the country somewhat adds an extra network of friends up and down the country.

Great, I have a network but how do I communicate with all of them on a regular basis? How do I tell them who I would like to be connected with? Not so simple. There are only so many hours in a day and my family see to it that even this is restricted!

My first “real” networking venture was 4N who have a 50/50 rule: 50% business and 50% social. I started meeting business people locally and connected to the group online via the 4N forum. Now I had access to a growing national audience and by chance the 4N forums lead to me discovering Twitter. Twitter, a social network based on the simple idea of letting people know what you are doing right now in less than 140 characters! I’ll admit I was nervous at first. Some people had thousand of followers and I had a handful!

Then things started to change…

Twitter though is gaining a strong business following and a number of key businesses within 4Networking have started to use it to good effect. The beauty of the system is that it is very simple, and that, I believe, will ensure its success. The basic concept is to answer the question: What are you doing now? You can only use up to 140 characters so each post is kept short and manageable. Brilliant.

When you add to this the ability to add links to websites, blogs, articles of interest you have the potential for some exciting possibilities.

Updating is easy and can be done from any internet connected computer or even your mobile phone so it has great flexibility.

So what business uses can it be put to? I have started interjecting snippets of useful tips within the social chatter. Free advice particularly on my area of knowledge which is garden design. I am not trying to sell anything simply demonstrating my knowledge and expertise to my followers. I can link these posts to my websiteor blog should anyone wish to gain a greater insight.

I have had assistance in getting up and running with Twitter in particular from Gary Gorman a fellow 4N member – there is plenty of additional functionality that can be added and he has been most helpful in getting me up and running. I am still learning and am enjoying the discoveries!

Another 4N member Julian Wellings has started to explore practical uses for it. Embedding the feed direct in to live web pages. Examples of this are for his tennis club and squash club where it is an easily updatable information link that members can view online or by follow on their own Twitter site.

A number of 4N members have embedded it in their forum signature so that it appears every time they make a posting – keeping people abreast of latest developments and boosting search engine rankings at the same time. Examples Lesley-Anne Hornbogen Mark Beaumont-Thomas Helen Silver & Brad Burton.

On a non business front it is also fun to keep up with the likes of John Cleese, Jeremy Clarkson, Barack Obama and Stephen Fry.

Will it have an impact on my business – too early to say but its free and fun so I’m going to keep going until it proves otherwise! I’m sure it will develop and more ideas will come in time. If you haven’t tried it yet why not join in?