Baseball season is in full swing and Cubs’ fans can follow the action on the radio and television. But fans can also increase their Cubs chatter by joining Twitter.

If you do not have a Twitter account it is easy to sign up at Twitter.com and it may actually be less of hassle then starting an e-mail account. Once you have the Twitter account set up there are many ways you can follow the conversation and action surrounding the Chicago Cubs. It’s fun, easy and great way share and gather information on your favorite team.

1. Do a Twitter search of Cubs with a hash-tag (#) or the pound sign in front of the word “cubs.” So when you enter it in the search application on your Twitter home page it should look like this: #Cubs and the Twitter search icon is on the far right-hand column about half way down the page.

After you hit the search button all the tweets mentioning the #Cubs will be displayed.

2. Join the discussion. Once you search the #Cubs on Twitter you will be able to reply to others’ comments by hitting the “reply” icon located in the right-hand corner of each tweet. By commenting and replying to others you will gain followers faster and be able to engage with other fans on multiple issues and topics all at once.

3. Don’t be afraid to be a follower. Many influential members of the media and Cubs beat reporters often leak information and tweet regularly. Here is a short list of “Cub Tweeters” to get you started on your quest to join the Cubs conversation on Twitter: @CarrieMuskat, @aleagueofherown, @lenandbob, @thekapman, @PWSullivan.

4. Bloggers know best? Once you start searching Twitter for Cubs’ discussions you will run across many people that have their own Cubs’ blogs. Some of these blogs can be quite informative and interesting, however, some of the authors are just hacks spewing dribble. So be selective in what you choose to read and who you choose to follow on Twitter because many bloggers use Twitter as a platform to self-promote their own blogs. There is nothing wrong with this, but some bloggers have less to bring to the table and you want your Cubs’ Twitter stream to be free and clear of nonsense and spam.

Good luck, and please feel free to send questions or comments to @BehindTheIvy. Go #Cubs!