Twitter, an emerging social media website, allows users to gain recognition and connect with others in 140 characters or less.

Many Oakland University students are taking advantage of Twitter for propagating their causes and material.

“Social media is a great way to get the word out,” Saman Waquad, a senior majoring in biology, said.

Waquad is an activist and humanitarian who has over 270 followers. Through Twitter, she volunteers with an online group called Humanity Road.

Through Humanity Road, Waquad has been able to help those in need of shelter during a ?ood, translate texts from Pakistani to English and keep up to date with the environment —  all thanks to Twitter.

Twitter is not only a resource for active and nonprofit groups, but also helps spread the word for new businesses and aspiring musicians.

Drew Parks — a rapper otherwise known as Drew32 — uses Twitter to stay in contact with fans. Parks currently has over 4,700 followers.

“Twitter has helped my music career grow by allowing me to interact more with my fans, as well as my actual fan base growing as a result,” Parks, a sophomore majoring in business management, said. “I would de?nitely recommend getting a Twitter account to help spread someone’s art, music, writings, job or hobby.”

For musicians like Parks, a lot of followers come randomly and most of them, he hardly knows.

“I’d say I’ve met or know personally roughly, 500 of the people that I follow or follow me,” Parks said.

With Twitter being a popular worldwide feature, users are capable of connecting with anyone, anywhere.

“Twitter’s search feature and trending topic feature allow you to ?nd out what people across the world are talking about, which can help you in many ways to connect to a larger audience,” Parks said.

For Waquad, most of her tweets include hash tags, which are active links following a # symbol to garner interest.

“I don?t tweet about personal stuff. I tweet about human rights or non-pro?t organizations, things I?m interested in,” Waquad said. “I use relevant hash tags and people can ?nd me that way.”

For those without cable, Twitter is an asset. Lisa Coppola, a junior majoring in mathematics, uses Twitter as a news outlet.

“We don’t have cable, so it’s how I stay current,” Coppola said. “It’s such a great reference. I’m able to read the headlines and choose which stories I want to read. I follow a lot of different news organizations, so I really don’t need to watch the news anymore.”

Future employers can also utilize Twitter to scout out prospective employees by monitoring users’ activity.

“Twitter can be more useful than a resume,” Waquad said.