Twitter has become a social networking favorite for everyone from high school kids to politicians. There's a joke that it's a site to see millions of pictures of people's lunches, but it's also a great promotional tool companies use to tell the world about their products. One way they do this is through giveaways and contests. Add Twitter to your online sweepstakes collection of sites for chances to win small ticket items all the way up to dream prizes.

Twitter is easy to navigate but it does take some getting used to. There's no cost to join and you need to give minimal information to sign up. You don't even have to use your real name as your user ID. However, if you start entering contests there, you'll have to give your name and address to sponsors so they can send you your prize. You communicate via 'tweets' which are short limited messages. You gain friends called followers and you can converse back and forth with each other in real time or keep a conversation going for days. Ask your friends and family if they've signed up. You might be surprised at who's already tweeting among your social circle.

Many of your favorite companies, celebrities and magazines will very likely have a presence on Twitter. Follow them to keep up with their latest contests at Twitter as well as sweepstakes through their website. Occasionally, there will be prize giveaways that are specific to Twitter which is another good reason for sweepstakers to have Twitter accounts. Sponsors will often ask you to retweet (also called RT) the contest information as part of the entry process. This is a promotional tool they use to spread their company name to more people.

Another way to find contests is through forums like Tweets Win!. This site will help you find the most current giveaways on Twitter. Companies and individuals that want to host contests enter their prize information and ending dates for the giveaways. They also help companies with custom promotions. Learn more at the Tweets Win! site. Join Twitter here and start tweeting for fun and prizes.