Say you’re a busy mother of four; you want your kids to know where you are, but you’re tired of sending and receiving incessant texts. So then you turn to Twitter. With one simple update all of your kids can know that you are “at the grocery store.”

Twitter, a blogging Web site, allows the user to make and receive updates—but only 140 characters at a time.

Users’ original skepticism to the usefulness of a Web site with such limited communication space has led to a plethora of online pro-Twitter information.

Time Magazine said Twitter was “on its way to becoming the next killer application.”

The best thing about Twitter is its simplicity. For Web-challenged people it is a great resource.

First, you sign up at www.twitter.com. After you have created your own username, you can search for your friends (by their username or e-mail.) If you want their updates to always show up on your Twitter homepage, you click to become their “follower.”

If other users choose to follow you, they will see what you write every time you change your update box.

Twitter describes its 140-character limit as putting the user in control and being “a modern antidote to information overload.”

Updates (sometimes called Tweets) can range from “Going to the movies!” to more heated blurbs on Twitter’s political forums.

A user can also update from their phone by texting their message to 40404. The update reaches the profile (and your followers who choose to use their cell phones) within seconds.

Twitter filters hundreds of updates per minute that are put into different forum topics, including ones set up for each presidential and vice presidential candidate.

This is to “create a new source for gathering public opinion about the election and a new way to share your thoughts,” according to Twitter.

Twitter users from all over the world can also voice opinions on the upcoming election. With usernames ranging from “UnBushUs” and “MOMocrats” to “Palin4Prez” and “iVote4McCain,” both political parties are well represented.

Twitter differs from other online applications such as Facebook and Myspace because there is no room for massive photo galleries, music, or games.

It only allows for straightforward updates, permitting your friends to see your current mood, thoughts or activities.

The New York Times recently ran an article explaining how Twitter can help in businesses.

One suggestion used the online emporium Zappos as an example. Zappos encourages employees to Twitter with customers (in a Q & A format) in order to maintain their reputation of friendly customer service.

Though Twitter has limited extra features, it serves a functional purpose for busy people on the go.