While I reject vehemently the idea that the internet exists fior the benefit of business, i have no problems with businesses that engage with it and make some money, in fact, as with any economy, its necessary that those with money have a stake in it. Which is why this story is heartening.World Wide Web - Dell Pulls in $3 Million Using Free Tweets on Twitter

Computer maker Dell has cashed in on Twitter's popularity by posting deals on Twitter.com/DellOutlet and several other Twitter accounts, and it has not cost the company a single penny.

Dell Outlet uses Twitter as a way to message coupons, clearance events, and new arrival information to those looking for Dell technology at a discounted price, according to Dell's Stephanie Nelson, who blogged about Dell's success with Twitter.

"Since we started back in 2007, we've earned more than $2 million in revenue at DellOutlet, attributed directly to our Twitter activity," Nelson said. "We've surpassed $2 million in revenue in terms of Dell Outlet sales, but we're also seeing that it's driving interest in new products as well."

Dell's Twitter site is also moving people to Dell.com, Nelson said. When those sales are factored in, Dell has actually reached $3 million in overall sales just from tweets on Twitter.

Dell employees saw the impact tweeting had on Dell's sales, so they decided to tweet more regularly and offer more Twitter-exclusive offers through its now-34 Twitter accounts. The move created even more buzz for Dell and helped the company lure a follower base that grown to more than 600,000.

"Our followers responded by re-tweeting DellOutlet messages to their followers, and our numbers rose even more," Nelson wrote in her blog.

Dell did not wait for a manual on 'best practise', they simply got on with testing a new technology and playing with how it might work to their advantage, that is what innovation in business looks like.

The second key is that Dell didn't do all the work themselves, they constructed their messages so that others would reTweet them, spreading the word virally into a much wider community.

And that is what social capital looks like. People who passed on the message didn't get anything from Dell, but they received some social value from those to whom they passed on the message; they became 'people worth knowing' because their information saved someone a few dollars or got them a better deal. Dell, meanwhile got to keep all the money.

Its a question we all need to be asking, "what will make it worthwhile for someone to pass along this information to their own list of acquaintances?" Word of mouth is now more powerful than ever, and traceable, your marketing and financial people should love that.

How do you answer that question at your place? Do you even ask it? Comments open for the answers as usual.

Welcome back to Groupings blog. Now that you are a regular, please feel free to comment on any story that you feel comfortable with.