For Russell Countians who use the social networking site Twitter, there are several local, area and state users that may be worth following after a review of Twitter pages this week.

The "tweets" from @lakecumberland, @DuoCounty, @statedock, @WolfCreekNFH, @LkCumberlandGP, @LindseyWilson, @kygov and @GovSteveBeshear are several of the users that Russell County Twitter users may find use in following.

The messages from @lakecumberland originate from the lakecumberland.com Web site and touts itself as the prime location on the Web for Lake Cumberland information.

The Duo County Twitter account gives up-to-date information on the cooperative as it continues to provide cable and Internet service in Russell, Adair and Cumberland Counties. The site also allows followers to interact with the cooperative, if necessary.

"Duo County Telecom utilizes Twitter's ability to convey a message quickly and efficiently," said Ramie Hutchison of the cooperative's marketing team. "Whether it is through news articles, promotions or photos, we try to show our customers the advances we are making for them in the telecommunications industry."

Hutchison said Twitter is a great networking tool for the cooperative as well.

"It allows us to see progressions other Telco's are making and keeps us up-to-date on industry news. This enables us to make sure all our products our fresh off the shelf," he said.

Likewise the Twitter accounts for State Dock and the Wolf Creek National Fish Hatchery provide updates on events, news and other informative information about their respective locations.

Environmental Outreach Specialist Amanda Patrick said the hatchery was actually on Twitter and Facebook.

"We have a fan page and group on Facebook along with a Twitter feed," she said.

"We use them to help us better connect with the people we serve," Patrick said. "More than ever, the public is tech savvy, accessing social media sites like MySpace, Facebook, Twitter and others to keep in touch, stay up to date and to essentially share in the exchanging of information."

She said young people are especially "hip" to social media uses.

"So here at the hatchery, its been a phenomenal way for us to reach out and better 'plug in,' so to speak, with those we serve. "

Patrick said the ability to connect through social networking sites is progressing.

"We have over 300 fans on our Facebook page," she said. "We post updates on workshops, fish production news and more as needed. Overall, though, we 'tweet' and post new information to Facebook no less than once per week. Its instant access to any and all hatchery news whether you use one or both."

She said the hatchery has both a fan page and a group on Facebook for several reasons, namely that the fan page resembles a profile, so it is easy to use and has an eye-catching layout.

"People can post information but only to the Fans section, so we kept both the fan page and the group as folks can post information, reply to discussion questions, post photos, and more on the group.

To find the hatchery on Facebook, search for "Wolf Creek National Fish Hatchery." For those using Twitter, people can sign up to follow the hatchery's "tweets" by simply searching for "WolfCreekNFH."

Wolf Creek National Fish Hatchery was one of the first sites in the field within the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to have a fan page and group, according to Patrick.

"We're most definitely one the very firsts in the history of the USFWS to use Facebook and Twitter as a field station," she said.

The Lake Cumberland Grand Prix's Twitter page gets followers ready for the 2010 race while looking back on this past year's big run while Lindsey Wilson College, the closest college campus with a Twitter account, looks to keep students and prospective students in touch with daily "tweets" concerning the school.

The last two Twitter accounts, that of the state's government Web site and that of the governor, himself, give followers the opportunity to stay in-the-know about local government.

For those still wondering exactly what Twitter is, here is a rundown of the feature:

The free social networking service allows users to send and read messages known as "tweets."

These messages can only be up to 140 characters in length and are displayed on the users' profile page and delivered to the page's  followers.

Twitter users can send and receive tweets using the Twitter Web site, Short Message Service or external applications, such as text messaging from cellular telephones.

Since its beginnings three years ago, Twitter has grown vastly worldwide, with most of the growth coming within the past year.

According to reports released just this week, Twitter reaches 27 million people per month in the United States, with 55 percent of users females and 43 percent between the ages of 18 and 34.