With only 140 characters or less, tweets tell all

Chanelle Madison's life revolves around twittering. She twitters in staff meetings or at dinners with friends. "I don't want to admit that I'm addicted," explains Madison. "I've posted well over 4,000 tweets since I joined Twitter in January." Just two minutes ago Madison posted, "Ok im sobering up lol..el caminos was full throttle tonight..bought 2 pitchers of margaritas and since it was my bday i got a free pitcher!"

The 25-year-old financial analyst from New York is one of a growing number of Americans who can't keep their fingers off their Blackberries or iPhones. Twitter, the biggest social network, asks its users one question: 'What are you doing?" Twitters answer the question with any information they want to share with just anybody, including friends, strangers or celebrities.

Almost three years ago, Jack Dorsey had the desire to find out what his friends were doing. He founded Twitter, a short messaging service which limits its users to 140 characters to let the world know what they're doing at any given moment.

In May 2007, Dorsey decided to turn his hobby into a money-making business and incorporated as Twitter Inc.

According to ComScore Media Metrix data for March, 2009, the number of visitors to Twitter.com reached 9.3 million, an increase of more than 5 million visitors, or 131%, from February.

Twitters like the simplicity of this new communication method, which can be done in any setting.

"I got written up twice at my job for being on non-company related sites while on the clock," said Madison. "I was on my Twitter page. I'm guilty of tweeting while driving, too. I love to tweet because I always have something to say even when I'm alone and on Twitter, there is always someone listening."

Madison's obsession with twittering has not gone unacknowledged.

"I have 1,102 people who follow my tweets, so I must be somewhat interesting," said Madison, as she checked her iPhone for Twitter updates. Madison has active followers who seem to always start a conversation. "You always talk about Margarita's. You're a lush girl! LOL," said one of her followers in response to her previous post.

Users take Twitter too far when it becomes a not-so-personal diary for users. Many users give very personal information on Twitter and expose their play-by-play actions by the minute.

"Morning, I'm in labor," wrote singer Erykah Badu during childbirth, using her screen name, FatBellyBella. The entertainer had a home delivery of her last born child in her New York residence and even labor couldn't keep her away from Twitter.

Recent high school graduate Tonya Dawson, 18, feels that Twitter even distracts students from schoolwork. "I even tweeted during class," Dawson said. She closed her Twitter account.

"It got to the point where I couldn't put my phone down for more than 30 seconds," she said. "Even during a face-to-face conversation I would be on my phone tweeting about something totally different."

Despite its growing popularity, there are some that still haven't caught on to the trend.

"It's just another intrusive social networking distraction," says 22-year-old Shayla Johnson. Although all my friends are on Twitter, I don't see the need to follow their lives minute by minute. It's just too much.