Twitter is different things to different people. You can treat Twitter as a huge real time chat room and just jump in and have great conversations. You can use Twitter to promote yourself and your business. And it's in the business arena that I'm seeing some of the most interesting Twitter interactions. Here are two stories:

Black & White Cookie Company
@dzinermom and I were chatting about the deliciousness of New York City's Black and White Cookies versus Utica's Half Moon Cookies. Its the same kind of cookie but one has icing while the other has frosting creating a very different sugar rush experience.
The Black & White Cookie Company re-tweeted our conversation about proposing a swap!

@BWCookieCompany RT @dzinermom: @amynowacoski I could go for a genuine NY black and white cookie - mmmm.... we should arrange a swap - LOL!

They must have a standing search for "black and white cookies" and re-tweet comments of the delightful treats (I'd like to see them kick it up a notch and engage more with Twitter users, but its a good start!)

Emma Email Marketing
@lindsaydoyle had asked for recommendations for an email marketing company and I offered up Emma.

@lindsaydoyle check out http://www.myemma.com/. Heard these guys talk, they were great

Not five minutes later I got this tweet:

@emmaemail @amynowacoski Hey Amy, saw your mention of Emma and just wanted to say thanks for the kind words. Curious - where'd you hear us talk?

We proceeded to have a great little chat about Steve Turney and Jim Hitch whom I had heard speak about email marketing.

Now these are just a small handful of tweets out of the ocean of Twitter that may seem insignificant. However, they did accomplish two things. I was charmed enough by the interaction that I am now following both @BWCookieCompany and @emmaemail. But more importantly, they have both created a fan and supporter. Should I ever have a need for mail-order black and white cookies or an email marketing service, I have a contact at the ready. I will also be more apt to recommend these companies to my personal network should the need arise.