A little less than a year ago, I was making my rounds on Twitter when I came across a tweet from Darren Rowse. He was traveling back to Austrialia from SXSW, and his reserved seat was of the uncomfortable variety.  He wanted to know if anyone had a connection at Qantas who could help him with an upgrade. Why, yes. Yes I did. My childhood friend Linda now lives in Australia and works for Qantas. We Tweeted back and forth throughout the night regarding seat preferences (Darren prefers aisle) and reservations. No emails were exchanged except between Linda and I. By the time Darren was ready to board his flight he had a coveted exit row seat. We couldn’t swing first class, but we got the next best thing. In fact, when he got to the desk, the attendant asked him who he knew at Qantas to get that seat.

As we tweeted the details back and forth I realized this Twitter is a very cool tool. Can’t find something? Throw it out on Twitter. Need a contact person? Throw it out on Twitter. Need an upgrade? Throw it out on Twitter. Looking for a job? Check Twitter. Want to see how folks feel about your business? Search Twitter.

Tweeting Up a Pirate Ship

I came across another cool Twitter story yesterday at Chris Brogan‘s blog. Chris and his fellow “pirates” Justin Levy and Colin Browning wondered if they would be able to get their pictures taken aboard the famous Pirate Ship “The Song” at the Treasure Island casino in Las Vegas. Chris and Justin asked around on Twitter to see if anyone knew anyone who could arrange a photo op on the pirate ship. Brandie, who handles interactive marketing at the Luxor, reached out to the small band of pirates and made the magic happen. There was a little more involved than a tweet, there were calls and explanations to be made, but it was Twitter that got the ball rolling and made a dream come true.

Not only is this a testament to the power of Twitter, but it also shows the importance of businesses getting on board this whole social media thing. The Luxor, Treasure Island and even Las Vegas, got some great free publicity from this one photo. Plus it gives the organization this whole warm and fuzzy “we get it” vibe.

Twitter and the Job Search

Here’s another Twitter story. When I learned I was in the running for my Community Manager job, I did a Twitter search, among others. I like to read up on the place where I may work as I find this helpful in the interview process. I also followed the CEO and several other members of the team on Twitter.  During my second interview, the CEO told me he was impressed that I found him on Twitter and followed him. Apparently I was the only candidate to do so.

Every day I see job opportunites shared on Twitter. I see folks networking and schmoozing. I even applied to some awesome opportunities I wouldn’t have found on my own. I’m still waiting for the first Twitter job interview, it’s bound to happen sooner or later. Twitter rocks as a job search tool.

How will YOU use Twitter?

The morale to this story, boys and girls, isn’t how many followrs you have on Twitter or how funny your Tweets are (though I do love Twitter for its entertainment value). It’s about how one small thing can unite the world. It’s about using social media to make contacts and connections. It’s about making the world a smaller place, one tweet at a time.

Now it’s your turn. Tell us your Twitter stories.