Everyone's twittering about Twitter

We recently reported on how local celebrities like Suzi Perry, Beverley Knight and Glenn Hughes are using the social networking site Twitter to keep fans updated on what they're doing.

Ex-Deep Purple star Glenn, who was born in Cannock but now lives in Los Angeles, posts regular updates about his gigs, as well as his favourite football team Wolves, on the site, while Wolverhampton's Suzi Perry and Beverley Knight both use it to talk to their fans.

Watch Suzi Perry telling us why she loves Twitter in our video above.

A host of celebrities are now using the site to connect with their followers and keep in touch with other famous personalities.

Katie Price recently complained to Graham Norton that she barely saw husband Peter Andre because he was on Twitter all the time, while Stephen Fry has become one of the most 'followed' Twitterers of all , keeping an army of 453,852 loyal fans up to date on his incredible journeys around the world, as well as at home in London.

And it isn't just celebrities who are dabbling in the world of social media. Everyone from politicians to newsreaders are using Twitter to gage public reactions to topical issues.

Channel 4 newsreader Krishnan Guru-Murthy recently read out Twitterer's reactions to Alistair Darling's new budget on Wednesday's 6 O'Clock news report.

So how does it all work? Check out our Twitter guide below:

What's Twitter then?

Twitter is a little different to the other social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace.

It still allows you to connect with people and share your links and pictures, but you can only do so through posting 140-character updates about yourself and what you're doing.

You communicate with others by prefacing your replies with '@' sign in front of someone's name, so for example, if you wanted to say hello to the Express & Star on Twitter, you'd say 'Hello @expressandstar!'

When you use the '@' sign, it means that everyone on Twitter can see what you're saying to people, but you can still contact someone privately by sending them a 'Direct Message'.

Instead of adding friends, you can 'follow' someone - and it doesn't have to be someone you know - you can follow celebrity Twitter users like Stephen Fry and Jonathan Ross to get real time updates on what they're doing, whilst businesses use Twitter to spread the word about their services.

Twitter has also become a useful tool for networking. Businesses and organisations from hotels and wedding planners to local councils and politicians use Twitter to promote things they're doing, highlight events and get user feedback on their services - even 10 Downing Street (@DowningStreet) and Barack Obama (@BarackObama) have Twitter feeds!

Celebrities using Twitter include:

• Stephen Fry - @stephenfry

• Jonathan Ross - @wossy

• Holly Willoughby - @hollywills

• Demi Moore - @mrskutcher

• Richard Herring - @Herring1967

• Hugh Jackman - @RealHughJackman

• Oprah Winfrey - @oprah

• Peter Andre - @MrPeterAndre

Businesses and organisations on Twitter include:

• The New Art Gallery, Walsall - @newartgallery

• Aston Martin - @astonmartin

• West Midlands Police - @WMPolice

• Sandwell Council - @sandwellcouncil

• The Light House - @lighthousemedia

• The Dogs Trust - @dogstrust

• Walsall Council - @walsallcouncil

Black Country favourites on Twitter include:

• Suzi Perry - @suziperry

• Beverley Knight - @Beverleyknight

• Glenn Hughes - @glenn_hughes

• Dave Heeley - @blinddaveheeley

• Stan Collymore - @StanCollymore

• Dave Gorman - @DaveGorman

To find us on Twitter, log on to www.twitter.com, set up a profile (it's free!) and search for us under ExpressandStar.

Happy Twittering!

Video and text by Lara Page