It’s June 2009. If you’re a journalist and you’re not on Twitter, you should be, in my humble opinion. It’s my hope that this blog will help skeptics find value in the service, teach newbies new tricks and also prove valuable to regular Tweeters.

I’ve been on the service for about a year now (@ckanal). I’ve quickly learned that Twitter is what you make of it. If you put in the time to check it out, I’m convinced you’ll see its value too.

As the founder of Breaking Tweets, a Web site that personalizes world news through tweets and has taken off beyond my wildest dreams since launch in January, I have a ton of tips, stories, and ideas to relay on to the journalistic community.

I also owe Twitter a great deal of thanks for the following opportunities:

• Getting tickets to the Obama rally on Election Night at Grant Park (via a link)
• Connecting with the Chicago Sun-Times and given a chance to tweet/blog for them at the Inauguration of Barack Obama (via a Direct Message)
• Meeting business entrepreneur Guy Kawasaki (again via a Direct Message)
• Landing my friend an internship at a Chicago agency (via a retweet I posted)

It’s a true community with real networking opportunities and unlimited usefulness if you know how to use it — or if you’re just curious and willing to experiment.

I believe that Twitter can play a large role in the future of journalism, as the applications are limitless, and well aware of the criticism this may be bring upon me, I call this the “Twitter Journalism” era of news.

So, keep checking back. Send your thoughts via comments. Share your knowledge and your tips. Consider making a guest post. And let’s make this a forum for discussion and a serious resource for journalists both new and old to Twitter. The applications are real and they are there. So let’s get started.