Okay, so I finally joined Twitter. Like Erin, I admit I avoided Twitter for awhile, thinking it was yet another fun diversion that would sneakily soak up time I really don't have to give. But after talking to some of my favorite Simply Stated bloggers last week, I realized it's time. Here's why:

• Twitter is a social network, sure, allowing you to update "tweets" about what you're doing in 140 characters or less, much like a Facebook status update. But it does double duty as a way to stay in touch with people you want to connect with professionally. 



• It's easy to link your Twitter account with your Facebook account or your mobile phone, so you don't have to always log in to yet another social network to check in with friends and colleagues. Just search for the "Twitter" application on Facebook, and after adding the application, you can click on a bar that reads, "Allow Twitter to Update Your Facebook Status."



• It's not going anywhere soon. Like everything else on the Web, Twitter is evolving as the way we use the Internet evolves. The "microblogging" site just raised another $35 million in venture capital funding, bringing its total funding to $55 million. The fast-growing site reportedly turned down a $500 million takeover by Facebook. And, like many popular sites on the Internet, it has yet to make money, and Twitter's founders have vowed to come up with some money-making plans this year. The trick will be to keep its fun, social side, while drawing revenue from people who want to use the site for business. It will be interesting to see how that unfolds. Here's what The New York Times' David Pogue said when he saw it in professional action:

"I was serving on a grant proposal committee, and I watched as a fellow judge asked his Twitter followers if a certain project had been tried before. In 15 seconds, his followers replied with Web links to the information he needed. No e-mail message, phone call or Web site could have achieved the same effect." Twitter is, as Pogue says, what you make it.

• It's fun, and I'm learning, following people like Phonedog's Noah Kravitz and Problogger Darren Rowse.

Have you joined Twitter? If so, tell us what you like about it, and how you make it work for you without letting it sap more precious time from your day.