Twitter isn’t what it used to be. Originally the social networking site was intended to tell friends what you were doing in real-time, but recent events in the blogging world show that top bloggers are just getting started with ideas for how to use the micro-blogging platform to gain new readers, promote their offerings, and make more money through online business.

Darren Rowse of ProBlogger, the Internet’s most popular blog about blogging, was one of Twitter’s first A-list evangelists. He asked his followers on Twitter, of course - to reply with the reasons they love the popular social network. More than 100 people responded in the first two hours, and he compiled the answers in a YouTube video which has been watched thousands of times.

Their responses varied widely, but the level of enthusiasm remained the same :

• “Twitter reminds me that, even though I can’t see them, there are people on the other side of my screen.”
• “Because it makes me feel as if I’m in the midst of the tech world when I’m really in Alliston, AL.”
• “I love Twitter because the ratio of selfless people doing things for other people is so high. This is just a great community.”
• “It’s like RSS on steroids and decidedly more personal.”

Crystal Clayton runs Big Bright Bulb, a website and business consulting service for micro-business owners. A major Twitter devotee, she found a way to incorporate Twitter into her business model by offering a new service called business micro-consulting via Twitter. Users ask a business related question and she responds with miniature consulting advice - in exactly 140 characters.

Brian Clark of the Technorati Top 100 blog ‘Copyblogger‘ is another A-list Twitter fan. He recently held a contest on his website for Twitter story writing. The challenge he set for his readers was a simple one - tell a story in exactly 140 characters. His contest received over 300 entries and the viral nature of the contest drew dozens of sponsors. The winning entry was written by Ron Gould, a flower shop owner from Fort Bend County, Texas.

“Time travel works!” the note read. “However you can only travel to the past and one-way.” I recognized my own handwriting and felt a chill.

It turns out you can say a lot in 140 characters.