We've often posted about the reach of Twitter. Often as a business user we might wonder how effective we can actually communicate with our audience using Twitter. While for each company, a unique vision and strategy is important, we can't lose sight of the fact that there is value having a direct line to an audience that Twitter can offer. Here's an extreme example:

James Karl Buck was arrested last week in Egypt for taking photos at a demonstration. He set a message via his mobile phone to Twitter with the word “arrested.” Within 24 hours, UC Berkley, where he is a graduate student, hired an attorney and he walked out of jail.

During the time he was in jail, his Egyptian friends new what was going on because of their connection to the service. His American friends took no time at all to notify his school and call the American Embassy. Read the news article here at the Contra Costa Times.

There's no doubt how using Twitter, within the matter of hours, helped this man gain his release from an Egyption jail. While the direct community he had established through Twitter was tied directly to him, the power of the tool, Twitter, made it easier and faster for him to reach out to them when he needed to the most.

We can't expect that for a business, as you build a community, we might have such extreme moments, but there are times when immediate communication can be important. With each new tool, you have consider how it can be most effective. Twitter certainly requires a definite finesse, but this is one powerful tool to have.