Twitter: uncommonly good for web sites

The Feedburner RSS service has a stat for something called "uncommon uses." That always makes me stop for a sec. What an odd-sounding concept. Are we talking ... guys in raincoats?

Thought of that the other day while marveling at the utility of the Twitter widget that appears on my web site about distracted driving.

I added the widget thinking it was a good way to promote the site's Twitter presence. The box appears in the sidebar and displays the latest items I've twittered.

Since the site's news stories automatically go to Twitter (via the sort-of reliable Twitterfeed), those headlines are displayed in the widget box, along with the usual 140-character Twitter messages. So far, common uses.

Over time, though, the Twitter display became integral to the site's news flow. Yep, uncommon uses:

• Short news blasts: Something happens that's interesting but not worthy of a complete article. Instead, I twitter the news. Both my Twitter followers and site visitors see the item, instantly. That's a terrific bit of double duty and an incentive to take action when minor news pops up. Essentially, I'm using Twitter to send news to my web site and display it. Reaching the Twitter followers feels like a bonus.


• News bulletins: If the story is big enough, I twitter the headline and get to work on my own article. Both audiences get the heads-up. When my homegrown story is posted, the headline automatically appears again (ideally with different wording).


• Updates: The site has Wikipedia-style pages for all 50 states. These pages often are refreshed with local news, but that info could be inserted anywhere -- typically not at the top. So I update the page with the item, Twitter the news and the headline loops back to the sidebar widget. That link drives traffic to the standing pages and exposes them to readers seeking the news.

(The Twitter links don't all go to my site, they often point to another content provider, of course. Or perhaps there's no link at all.)

Flowing the news through Twitter and back to the site keeps things fresh and dynamic, especially since the Twitter widget appears almost on almost every web page. Search engines like that.

Update: Just after posting this, found a great idea on ProBlogger: Tweet your best comments.

Anyone else found uncommon uses for Twitter widgets or RSS dohickeys?