Using Twitter to build your brand: Cool or creepy?

Twitter largely reminds me of when people started to register their own names for domains, turning the Internet into a giant customized license plate. It's somewhere between self-expression and mental onanism.

I use it to track several news sites but following other "people" often makes me feel weird. Most of the content seems like therapy for those who don't spend enough time with others. From a technology perspective, I find it really interesting and useful to an extent. But is this online stream of consciousness a marketing tool?

There are some great users like the guys from RedMonk (monkchips, cote, sogrady), who have gotten so used to Twittering everything that it's like having them in the room. And their content is interesting and funny. It's a great branding tool for them and theoretically should be for others as well.

Personally, I use Twitter (daveofdoom) to entertain my other idiot friends, and I forced our marketing team (mulejockey) to do it too as an experiment. It's definitely not a replacement for a blog even if you can communicate anything with just 140 characters.

Over on Mashable, Andy Beal outlines "5 Twitter Tactics for Building a Stellar Brand":

1. Start conversations with notable peers
2. Share valuable industry news
3. Build your blog audience
4. Stay connected at conferences and trade shows
5. Monitor your Twitter reputation

Conversation or crap? You decide.