Twitter, as you probably know, is free to use.

So is Facebook. In fact, every significant social media platform is and always has been free. There is no cost barrier to entry. Everyone can join, and everyone is welcome to use these tools to raise awareness of their brand, product and services, boost website traffic and drive sales.

But there are no guarantees. And nobody ever said it was going to be easy.

Posting text, photos, videos and comments, blogging, research, curation, engaging, listening and analytics… all of these things come with a huge cost, and it isn’t financial. It’s effort. It’s resources. And it’s time.

Your time.

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Customer service is going social. A recent study revealed that 80 percent of companies plan to use social media for customer service by the end of 2012, and 71 percent of users who receive positive customer support through a brand on a social channel go on to recommend them to their friends.

More than 23 million people discovered new brands through social media this year – up from 18 million in 2010 – and 15.1 million refer to social media before making purchase decisions.

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You see them all the time – outrageous tweets making outrageous claims. You know the work-from-home scams are just that, of course, but what about tweets that pop up during emergencies? If you use Twitter for the latest breaking news, or worse – depend on the information it provides during an emergency – you may be in trouble.

Unless, that is, you could tell if a tweet was credible or not.

Well, we have some tips from people who have been studying just that.

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We all have that person who is just impossible to buy for. Either they already have everything or maybe you just don’t know them well enough to know what kind of fun gift they’d enjoy. And you can’t ask – that’s tacky.

Well, if they tweet you can find something that’s very “them.” So very them, in fact, they’ll wonder how you knew to buy it. But don’t give away your secret, just smile evenly and maintain eye contact for a full five minutes.

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Anonymous outed some pedophiles earlier this year and were widely (and appropriately) lauded online for that bit of handiwork.

But in this latest ‘outing’ by Anonymous though, they apparently got it wrong, misidentifying a 71-year-old woman as the person behind a fake Connecticut school shooter account.

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The 55th Annual Grammy Awards are just over six weeks away, and to drum up some anticipation, The Recording Academy has launched a Twitter chat series with major female music stars.

They’re calling it The Artist Interview Series, and using the hashtag #TheWorldIsListening.

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Alright, all you fantasy footballers left in the game.

You’re surely already scouring the Internet and DVRing ESPN for any tips and tricks, and the latest player intel.

But make sure you’re giving yourself that extra advantage by tuning into Twitter.

Here are 15 must-follow Twitter accounts for fantasy football fanatics:

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Did you know that a recent survey showed that more than 40 percent of consumers say that information they have found on social media sites affects the way that they manage their health?

And it’s not the demographics that you might expect: 18-24 year-olds are more than twice as likely as 45-54 year-olds to use social media for health-related discussions. And with close to 5,000 U.S. health organisation social media accounts currently active – a fifth of which are on Twitter – it’s somewhat concerning that less than two in five healthcare firms include social media in company privacy trainings.

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Did you know that the death of Whitney Houston made the late R&B star the most searched-for term on Google in 2012, ahead of Hurricane Sandy, the 2012 presidential election and The Hunger Games?

TBH (“to be honest”) was the most mentioned phrase on Facebook this year, and #nowplaying, #oomf (“one of my followers”) and #blessed were Twitter’s most-used hashtags.

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If you’re one of the BlackBerry true believers, with a baggy full of track ball replacements to prove it, you’ll be THRILLED by this new announcement from Twitter. (The rest of you can skip it.)

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