Twitter allows you to reach out and stay connected with the people that matter most. Unlike store bought software that only changes when you upgrade it, Twitter can change almost overnight. When Twitter was launched in March 2006, it was promoted as a micro-blogging platform.

Twitter gives people the opportunity to exchange comments with other users all over the world. It has also become a reliable source for late-breaking news. Twitter offers a simple interface for sending and receiving messages. Simply enter your message up to 140 characters which is known as a tweet, and it will be instantly viewed by your followers.

Google Alerts are sent via email when new Google results become available for your search terms. These alerts can also be sent to the feed reader of your choice. Currently there are 6 different types of alerts- News ,Blogs, Groups, Video, Web and Comprehensive.

You can sign up on the Google Alerts home page. Enter your search, the type of alert you'd like how often you'd like to check for results, and your email address. When you're done, click the 'Create Alert' button. The frequency chosen when you setting up this service dictates how often checks are made for new results, and if information is located on your search term, you'll then receive an alert.

You can create up to 1000 total. To create more more, you can either delete any of the existing or request to have them sent to a different email address. You can create up to ten at a time using the Google Alerts home page. Once you confirm your alerts, you can create more. To view and manage all your Google Alerts in one place, you may want to use a GMail Account.

Google Reader is a tool for subscribing to, reading, and sharing all of your favorite blogs and websites you read on a daily basis. Start becoming acquainted with the benefits of using Google Reader so that you can get started subscribing to and sharing feeds.

In order to subscribe to the feed of your choice, just click the Add Subscriptions link and paste the address field that appears. Another option is to use the directory for a faster way to find and add feeds. Of course, you can always find your own feeds.

In cases where you don't want to see certain updates from any of your subscriptions, you can unsubscribe by going to your subscription list. Check the box next to the feeds you want to unsubscribe from. Then click the unsubscribe button. its that simple.

When choosing an RSS reader keep in mind there are several options available to suit your needs. Not sure which one to use? Here are is a list of the most popular:

Bloglines

http://www.bloglines.com
Bloglines is free and offers a variety of useful features. The feed reader is very user-friendly. Your feeds are stored in folders that you can label. It also lets you control how feeds are displayed, updated and so on.

FeedDemon

http://www.feeddemon.com
FeedDemon is a standalone feed reader that looks very similar to Outlook's style. The program comes pre-configured with a number of popular feeds, which is a good choice if you are a beginner with RSS and not sure how all of this stuff works. FeedDemon also has a built-in podcast receiver that automatically downloads the newest versions of your subscribed podcasts.

Personalizing: Setting up iGoogle

iGoogle is a personalized page you can use to access Google search and accessories. The first time you use iGoogle, you'll see the setup wizard, which will let you "Create your own homepage in under 30 seconds."

Offering online support can be a tricky subject in terms of web based collaboration. Website support has many different delivery points. They can include a walk through of your completed website, access to a member only support forum and a wiki. Each of these serve a specific purpose and are administered differently.

For instance we administer a website walk through via remote desktop. This allows us to best capture a personable setting for the demonstration.

When conducting these demonstrations we collaborate via Microsoft SharedView. This free, lightweight tool serves this purpose well and only requires a Windows Live ID to begin the collaboration session.

To begin the setup process:

1. Download the application and install it on your computer
2. From your desktop use the "Start" or Windows icon to locate the application. Double click the Microsoft SharedView icon to open it
3. Next: Sign in with your Windows Live ID
4. Once signed in: Choose Start Session if you are the presenter and Join Session or the link in your invitation to enter an existing session

When presenting, you'll begin with the toolbar showing 1 participant.

Clicking the participant button will open a box of options to invite others, distribute handouts for the demonstration, or chat with the participants.

Shareaholic is a Firefox add on that provides an easy way to submit content to your favorite social networks. Browser support for Google Chrome, Safari, Flock, IE, and Songbird is now available. Now you too can become a Shareaholic using your browser of choice.

Manage services to use with Shareaholic by ticking the boxes in the preference pane. Choose up to 41 different networks (as of version 1.9) to share content with. Keep in mind you will need an account with the service providers you decide to use.