I hosted a free, brief, live video & audio chat today using TokBox to help me brainstorm an idea. In 20-25 minutes, we covered a lot of ground and I left with several practical solutions.

Part of the value of Social Media Networks like Facebook, Twitter, TokBox, etc. is in the ability to have fast (sometimes instant) feedback. Before this, I’d have either called or emailed people and tried to coordinate schedules to see when I might hold a conference call (audio only). Ugh.

Today I took less than 15 minutes to make this brainstorm a reality. Coolness.

Yet making this work was more than the technology involved, it was that I, and others, have been intentional about leveraging Twitter as a very large network that’s manageable in small groups. While it’s ridiculously easy to get started with Twitter, it does require just a tad bit of effort to find people you want to follow and begin building your own group of followers.

To help you expand your own Twitter network, simply go to either (or both) of these sites:

Mr. Tweet

Twubble

Once you’ve created a Twitter account and followed a few people, these sites will quickly help you follow a lot more. The more people you follow, the better the results they give in finding other people with similar interests. Cool, huh?