iKnifeCollector is now tweeting. Yes, iKC members and interested followers can now receive updates, announcements and community tidbits easily and remotely.

I'm always looking for better ways to communicate and keep folks up to speed on the goings-on here and have decided Twitter is the answer.

What is Twitter? In a nut-shell, it's a mobile web-based network designed for instant- short messaging.

Why am I using another tool when iKC is the ultimate communications tool on steroids?

That's easy- you don't have to be logged into iKC to get the message I send out. Also, Twitter is wildly popular and is growing by leaps and bounds. It will enable us to expose our community to non-iKC knife folks using Twitter already. Another major reason is it is very mobile, meaning a lot of folks are already wired to receive different messaging services on their cellphones and with the direction phones are going today, the applications (apps) are typically free and easy to download. The other reason is some folks here limit the emails they receive from iKC...and sometimes that includes the messages I need to get to them, so this way I can get messages to them through a service many are already using anyway.

Here's the cool part- just like iKC Status, the messages are limited to 140 characters, so they are short messages. I can add links back to iKC if need be.

So, I'll forge all the tech talk about the in's and out's of this cool web- service other than to say, it is so much more than just all of that and expands our community.

If you are already on Twitter, as many of you are, the address is http://twitter.com/iknifecollector. If you aren't then go to Twitter.com and sign up. It's free.

I'll close with this- earlier I mentioned Twitter is a network, well that's true. In fact, for members who are wanting to stay on top of who in the knife industry is doing what and where, then Twitter is for you. As I was digging around, I found Blade Mag, Outdoor Life, Bass World, Knife Rights, Case, A. G. Russell and many other knife companies and makers (and I've just started looking around there). We "follow" them and they will follow us back, meaning they are staying up on what is going on here too.

Guess who else I found on Twitter? CutleryNewsJournal (http://twitter.com/knifenews) :-)

If you decide you're not quite ready for another learning curve- that's cool. I will continue to use the iKC Blogs, Status, the NEWS, the community homepage and network email to keep you in the loop.