Twitter is a popular social network that was began in 2006 by Jack Dorsey. Though the Twitter service has been fairly mainstreamed—even making it onto a NBC Tonight Show comedy bit—Twitter began as a communication tool for business.

Twittering is much like text messaging with a cell phone, or one can think of Twittering as an Internet Relay Chat (IRC) for the web, or some people have even described Twitter as miniature blog posts. Twitter offers businesses a great way to stay in touch with what’s happening in the economy, in their specific industry, allowing relevant information and news to arrive at CEO and entrepreneurs’ fingertips.  Twittering can be used to keep in touch with clients, and business associates, allow one to be notified of deals and specials, and monitor other companies.

However, Twittering can be a big waste of time too. People can spend countless hours sending and receiving tweets and not get anything that is actually productive accomplished. How do business professionals sort through all of the Twitter chatter and get to the meat and potatoes of what they really need to know?

Twitter apps are available to filter through some of the pointless Twitter babble. TweetDeck is one of the more popular third-party Twitter tools, and there are several online databases available with tons of these Twitter widgets. However, probably the best way to navigate Twitter for business is to use a Twitter Business Directory. And there are just as many Twitter Business Directories out on the Web as people have hands, so to help clear away some of the clutter, here’s a helpful listing of Twitter business directories.

Twibs at www.twibs.com
Twibs is a general Twitter business directory with city and/or state search functions.
Ultimate Small Business Twitter List at smallbiztrends.com/2009/01/the-ultimate-small-business-twitter-list.html
This twitter business directory helps those wanting to keep up with the hot topics and trends in small business, having created a list of people and organizations within the small business world that may be of interest to follow.

Brands That Tweet at buzzmarketingfortech.blogspot.com/2008/12/brands-that-tweet.html
Though this twitter business directory groups brand names with Twitter accounts, the majority of the brand name Twitter accounts are not managed by the brands themselves.

C-Level Tweeters at buzzmarketingfortech.blogspot.com/2008/12/c-level-tweeters.html
C-Level Tweeters is run by the same guy who does Brands That Tweet. The directory lists CEOs, CTOs, and CMOs.

Analyst Twitter Directory at sagecircle.wordpress.com/directories/analyst-twitter-directory
This is mainly a business directory of various industry analysts on Twitter.

A Wiki of Social Media Marketing Examples at  wiki.beingpeterkim.com
This list is more than just a simple Twitter search, but users can separate out the brand names using Social Media by type.

Media on Twitter at mediaontwitter.pbworks.com
Formatted in a wiki, this directory is a list of resources and contact information helpful to local and international journalists and bloggers alike.
Social Brand Index at www.socialbrandindex.com
Social Brand Index lists tweets by various categories such as business, education, entertainment, executives and notable individuals, for consumers, government and politics, housing market, media, non-profit, organizations, service providers, social properties, technology, and travel.
Just Tweet It at justtweetit.com

Though not a Twitter business directory per say, Just Tweet It is a listing of Twitter directories organized by genre and category, and may be of help to a business profession looking for a more generalized Twitter search.

About The Author: Taylor Reaume has been practicing, studying and teaching advanced search engine marketing strategy and techniques for over ten years. He holds a weekly SEO WEBINAR, as well as a weekly SEO WORKSHOP for locals in Santa Barbara, CA.