Microblogging: it's not just a Twitter thing

Microblogging didn't begin with Twitter.

That's going to come as a shock to several people, but it's true.

Before there was Twitter, there was cell phone text messaging.

Before there was cell phone text messaging, there was online instant messaging.

Before there was online instant messaging, there were private online chat rooms.

Before there were private online chat rooms, there were public online chat rooms.

You get the picture.

Microblogging is simply short posts about current events, either personal or public.

Believe it or not, there are several other microblogging sites besides Twitter, as you can see from the image to the left.

Let's chat about these:

Adocu - tell everyone what you're doing in one word; yes, just one word

Audio Boo - create and share audio with your connections

Cinch - exclusively for the iPhone and your computer; share text, images and audio

Dipity - pull in content from many sources; update many sites at once and track the popularity of your choices

Flattr - make a little money from people who connect with you and like what you have to offer (in beta; invite only)

Foursquare - earn points and badges by using your phone to explore your city

FriendFeed - build a feed based on content your connections share on other sites, including articles, videos, photos and text

Gowalla - allows you to capture places and events from your cell phone and share them with friends

Jisko - microblogging in espanol (in beta)

JuiceCaster - share photos and videos on your mobile phone and update Twitter and Facebook, too. Join by texting their SMS code to your phone or by entering your cell phone number.

Meme - a Yahoo! service allowing you to share text, images, video and audio; current Yahoo! users can log in with your Yahoo! credentials (free)

MexicoDiario - microblogging in Spanish with up to 254 characters

Mobango - microblogging for your phone; free applications, ringtones, videos, games and themes

Moodler - allows you to track the moods of your connections and to share your mood, as well; allows for quick polls and quick results

Pegshot - share images and video right from your mobile phone; iPhone application available

Plurk - touts itself as a better social network than the one you're currently using

Ruminations - this site describes itself as "Digg meets Twitter meets Seinfeld; when you sign up, the form asks you whether you're a "dude" or a "chick"

Twitter - update your connections on "What's happening" in 140 characters or less

YouAre - share text, video and images; the 140-character limit does apply

Zannel - Mashable calls it the "ultimate microblogging mashup" and TechCrunch says it's "twitter with multi-media

Zedge - boasts over 17 million users sharing videos, games, wallpapers, themes and ringtones right from their phones

What's really interesting is that this list isn't exhaustive. New social media tools are being creating everyday, so you might find other microblogging sites that aren't listed here. If you do find others, or if you know of others, please add them to the comments.