Social media coming at you like a big wave? A former professor put it into perspective. “It seems technology is like that huge wave you try to catch and stay on top of, but eventually, and inevitably, it washes over you and either pushes up on shore where you will forever remain, or you will drown, or if you are one of the exceptional and fortunate ones, you will pop back up to ride the next wave.”

Now, the 101 part: This is a blog. You likely understand blogs. Twitter is a micro-blog. What makes it micro? It allows 140 characters a post. I’d suggest a simple strategy to get started. Sign up at twitter.com. Then search for folks you’re interested in following. Celebrities (@lancearmstrong), friends (@owenwbrown) and people in your industry (@mashable). The gist Follow first and then decide how you will use the tool to communicate what you have to say.

Got an iPhone? Get the Tweetie app and get Twitter in your pocket! For everything else see http://mashable.com/guidebook/twitter/