A prominent investment fund manager confessed something to me recently. He has a Twitter account, but he doesn't know how to operate it directly. He never tweets himself. Instead, he emails his posse of social media advisors a couple of lines and they post it on his behalf. I was alarmed. "It's so easy," I said, "There's really no excuse for not doing it yourself." He bowed his head, and vowed to learn to tweet.

So, how many of you out there are not making the most of your Twitter account? How many aren't on Twitter at all? For the sake of your career, your public persona and your sanity, get tweeting. Trust me, it's important.

The thing is, Twitter is elusive. It's difficult to explain its potential and its ingenuity to someone outside the Twitter universe. You have to be in it to get it. You can forget about calculating a return on investment though, monetary or measured in time. When it comes to social media, you just have to trust that it's enormously valuable to your business or personal profile. Don't make the mistake of dismissing Twitter as a passing fad, or a young person's game. It's a vital, evolving, exciting, novel, culturally significant media platform. Neglect it, and you're squandering the chance to connect, inform, publicize, and learn.

Here's why you need to get tweeting:

You have 140 characters at a time to communicate your thoughts. This is a wonderful exercise in crystallizing your argument, and writing with succinct clarity. Use each tweet as a mini-media release, a micro-blog to get your opinion across, or a platform to connect with people on the go.

Everyone else is doing it. It's only a matter of time before your absence on twitter will be noticed. If you run a business without a twitter account, you're neglecting an entire channel of communication. You're missing the chance to cultivate a following, and that will ultimately make you look silly, and out of touch. Get that business of yours on twitter, post-haste.

Tweeting is micro-networking. Believe it or not, you can make invaluable business connections over twitter, and even start friendships. It's a streamlined way to connect with potential business partners, customers, clients, sources. If you run a small business, amping up your social media presence is wise. If you're in big business, twitter's a great way to humanise your brand. If you're working as an individual, cultivate your own personal brand.

Twitter is the most concise news source in the world. Follow major newspapers, journalists, TV stations and websites to keep up with breaking news, and access infinite resources and articles. Twitter is instantaneous and slick, so it's perfect for breaking news. The internet is in international territory, so it's great for local and global news.

For the truly uninitiated, here's how to get tweeting:

Log on to twitter.com.

Start an account.

Choose a username and password.

Upload a photo that appropriately reflects the tone of your account. If it's a business account, go for a professional headshot or clean photograph. If you're tweeting on behalf of a brand, use its logo. If it's purely personal, do whatever you like.

Write a short bio. Keep it quick, clean and informative. List your professional details, or some personal quirks - but again, this is how you set the tone for your account.

If you're mixing professional and personal accounts, tack on a disclaimer to the end of your bio, saying "all tweets are my opinion, not that of my employer."

GET TWEETING.

Consider each tweet carefully, because once you've hit 'send' it's in the public domain and even if you delete it later, people will see it.

Every time, just before you tweet, ask yourself: "Is this in line with how I want to represent myself?"

Never be racist, sexist, or discriminatory - you can and will get in trouble for it, and the damage done to your profile by exposing bigotry on twitter is irreparable. Be sensible with what you share, and treat the Twitter plane like a dinner party or business meeting.

Maintain decorum. Unless you're a comedian, in which case disregard most of the aforementioned rules.

Most importantly, tweet mindfully and tweet often.

If you have any further questions, tweet them to me at @kateileaver. See you on Twitter.