The social site, which was publicly launched in 2006, is not only taking over the online social networking scene, but is rapidly spreading to the celebrity world as well as politics. If you've been overloaded with articles, friends, or television shows talking about this Twitter.com concept, it comes as no surprise.

It started with the Twitter update heard around the world, or at least in California, with credit going to Lance Armstrong for bringing the rest of the bandwagon jumpers onto this particular trend. In Sacramento at The Tour of California, Mr. Armstrong's one-of-a-kind time trial bike was stolen right off a truck. And how did the media find out about it? Twitter. Lance Armstrong is an avid Twitterer and when he was awoken in the morning to knocking on his door and the news of his missing bike, he (almost) immediately took to the site to update his followers.

Twitter co-founder, Biz Stone said, "We compiled a list of potential names and Twitter stood out more than anything else. The reference to birds was interesting as was the definition itself." The bird concept is incorporated most obviously as the logo on the site.

According to the website, the idea came from Jack Dorsey who "had grown interested in the simple idea of being able to know what his friends were doing. Specifically, Jack wondered if there might be an opportunity to build something compelling around this simple status concept. When he brought the idea up to his colleagues, it was decided that a prototype should be built."

Crash course in Twitter lingo. First, sign up. It is so much simpler than Facebook or MySpace because you can't post tons of pictures or write all over your friends' walls or download a bunch of applications. Simply design the color scheme, post a picture, and in one hundred and forty characters or less, write what you are up to. You can also reply to what your friends are doing. When you find someone you know or admire, you follow them and receive their updates, and in turn, they can follow you. So there you have it, update, follow, and be followed. The website even cites it's simplicity as one of the reasons for its success. The most complicated part is setting up your choice of mobile updates through your phone or blackberry, but doing that still only takes a minute.

The most exciting, fun fact about Twitter is that it was started in San Francisco's very own SOMA neighborhood, with the headquarters located on Bryant Street.

The second coolest thing about the site is that it offers a more personal approach to online networking especially when you can keep up with updates from the mayor of San Francisco or your favorite celebrity. If you're into news, CNN Twitters keeps you up-to-date with world news. If you aren't into news, celebrity blogger Perez Hilton even has his own page which is a mix of what he is doing and gossip from his website.

So if you want to know what celebrities fill their days with, follow one on Twitter. High profile celebs such as Robin Williams, Ashton Kutcher, Demi Moore, and Michael Phelps are avid Twitterers. But if you've always been more into politics than celebrities, you can follow Gavin Newsom or President Obama News. Gavin Newsom personally updates his Twitter, however it isn't completely clear as to who is updating Barack Obama's Twitter. There are a few impostors, and one that is just called ObamaNews, which keeps you informed on what the President is working on.

Twitter seems to be just another addition to online networking, just in a simpler format. Jimmy Fallon's Twitter updates are mainly about his show. However, there are a few "Twitterers" that use it for personal updates and leave business out of it such as John Mayer. There are a few thousand celebrity types on Twitter, all of whom can't be listed here, so if you are curious check it out at WeFollow.com.

Eric Jaye from the Newsom for California Exploratory Campaign says, "It helps the campaign to have a dialogue with hundreds and thousands of California residents," Jaye goes on to explain that the most important part of Gavin Newsom's Twitter, Facebook, and website is that, "it is not only a tool to reach the voters but also a tool for the voters to reach him." Jaye also notes that Mayor Newsom has "always been an early adapter of online tools and technologies since before working in office." The big question that can only be revealed with time is whether or not Newsom's accessibility will lead to him taking the seat as Governor of California one day.

And what does the co-founder think about all the political pull that Twitter is getting? Biz Stone says "we had a sense early on that Twitter had big potential, but didn't necessarily consider political uses until we started to see them. Politicians are supposed to represent us and should therefore be connected to us more--we like that Mayor Newsom is an active Twitterer."

So if you haven't seen the word "Twitter" enough in this article or in headlines lately, go check it out for yourself. Some people are dedicated to having their own book, some enjoy their own space, and some like their own log on the web, but others have found Twitter's simplicity very intriguing.