A somewhat creepy but entirely necessary business model change at Twitter.

Consider it a sign of the times, or even just success that Twitter now has a policy in place to handle ownership of a user’s account once they’ve died.

As expected, interested parties need to send in several pieces of information about how they relate to that person before Twitter will take action.

Once the proper credentials have been sent to the company (via e-mail or snail mail), Twitter is then able to do one of two things: either remove a deceased user’s account entirely, or provide an archive of all that user’s tweets so family members can access them offline.

So it seems the Library of Congress is going to archive all public tweets on Twitter. This, after me spending way too much time tweeting on the subject of my nether regions. Though, come to think of it, perhaps that’s something that should be archived for future generations.

Ok, Twitter has been around a while now, and we all pretty much have the hang of it. There are $5 Twitter Tricks, TwiTips and more out there to help you navigate Twitter and gain followers.

Most of the tricks you learn aren’t that helpful, except for making numbers go up. Your new “followers” are not even interested in the topics you tweet about.

Last night, tweeting for a client, I came upon a Twitter party. Using a hashtag, hundreds of people participated in one huge conversation on Twitter. The “party” was relevant to my client’s business, so I joined. Chatted it up with dozens of people. Added a bunch of them to my lists. And I TRIPLED followers on Twitter for my client.

TRIPLED! Even I was shocked!

Because we were all attending this Twitter party, using the same hashtag, these new followers are all interested in the same things. That means they are relevant to my client.

This can be looked at from two sides. Obviously, as a tweeter, I was able to connect with kindred followers. So joining these Twitter bashes is clearly beneficial. Then there’s the organizers. Pick a day and time, and start spreading the word around Twitter, to key relevant people, then let the party start. Give away prizes. Ask questions that participants can answer. Spark conversations. It builds recognition for the brand/person organizing the party. Your company/brand gains tons of good will from people participating.

Once every few weeks I take part in the #journchat Twitter parties. Monday nights, 7:30pm EST. Dozens of journalists, editors, freelancers and more take part.

What Twitter events could you take part in or organize to promote your brand?

Bloggers love comments. I’m no different. They’re like a badge of success. It you get elevently-trillion comments on a post, you are awesome. If you get none, you are a loser who should commit suicide immediately and do the world a favor.

Or something along those lines.

Well, despite my best efforts, I’m still alive, so I must be getting enough comments, right? No, not really. Look through these pages and you’ll see that I maybe garner 1-3 comments in a post.

Most of my comments come in the form of tweets. On twitter, my link goes out, and me readers and I spend a few minutes discussing the post. It’s very interactive, and since I have Tweetdeck open all day, I don’t have to log in and out to check them.

Comments within the posts, on the other hand, pop up in my email at the most inopportune times, like when I’m about to hop on the subway or I’ve just shut the computer down for the night. So it will take me a while to approve it, and even longer to respond, if it’s something I can respond to at all.

Dee Barizo over at Performancing put up a post yesterday about how to get more comments. Her post includes a few tips to drive the right kind of traffic and spark the right kind of conversation in order to receive the most comments.

For me, I’m not fussed either way. I’m getting my needy personality catered to over on Twitter. But what about you? Do you thrive on comments?

You can either leave a comment here, or if you prefer, I’ll be over on Twitter.

CAUTION: I’m very no-holds-barred, no-filter on Twitter. Not for the faint of heart.

Interesting story from Silicon Angle, about the Washington Posts’s new policy for social media use by staffers.

Post journalists must refrain from writing, tweeting or posting anything—including photographs or video—that could be perceived as reflecting political, racial, sexist, religious or other bias or favoritism that could be used to tarnish our journalistic credibility. This same caution should be used when joining, following or friending any person or organization online. Post journalists should not be involved in any social networks related to advocacy or a special interest regarding topics they cover, unless specifically permitted by a supervising editor for reporting and so long as other standards of transparency are maintained while doing any such reporting.

Post journalists should not accept or place tokens, badges or virtual gifts from political or partisan causes on pages or sites, and should monitor information posted on your own personal profile sites by those with whom you are associated online for appropriateness.

It’s far more detailed than that little blurb gives away. Worth reading and more importantly – discussing. Should journalists have fewer rights than the average Joe? Should the average Joe also adhere to these guidelines?

The fact is, people have been talking trash on the internet since its inception. Many have been using aliases, but those are getting easier and easier to track every year. Do you really want to have your name, your job and your family associated with some of the things you say online?

Perhaps I’m the wrong person to be asking that question, given my own Twitter habits. I swear, get into arguments etc, all under a pseudonym that everyone and their donkey knows belongs to Wendy Sullivan. My “good name” is ruined.

Or is it?

For some, outlandish behavior on the internet – under a real or assumed name – is part of their “act”. For me, hyperbole and polemics rule the day. I get attention. Perhaps people don’t want to separate the wheat from the chaff where my musings are concerned, but enough do, and that makes my shtick worthwhile.

If I worked for the WaPo, I wouldn’t have the freedom to do that. I wouldn’t have the freedom to develop my own deranged little niche.

So what’s fair here?

I have a bit of an email/Twitter compulsion. And by “a bit” I mean I wake up in the middle of the night to check the BlackBerry on my nightstand. The BlackBerry is only 8 months old, and the chrome around the trackball is already chipping off from overuse.

It’s a sickness, I admit it.

When I’m working, I have my laptop on my lap, and my BB next to me. I will email and tweet from either one at any given time. I check my email compulsively – some might say maniacally – hundreds of times throughout the day.

I need what my friends refer to as a “Twitervention”.

Actually, two weeks ago a Very Bad Thing™ happened to my BlackBerry, and I lost service for a fortnight. For two weeks I was unable to roll over in the wee small hours of the morning to check my email. For two weeks the ability to check my Tweets 1500 times from the train platform was taken away.

And you know what? I survived. Ok, the first few days kinda felt like I’d had my hands cut off, but after that, I just got used to not checking in. I didn’t get all new-age-get-on-the-cover-of-Oprah or anything and start saying how great my life was without being tied to technology. That’s all bunk anyway. I didn’t feel any more or less free for not having a BlackBerry, and I think my tweeting only went down by about 20%.

Social Signal has an article with Seven ways to break the habit of compulsive e-mail and twitter check-ins. Most of them are inane touchy-feely type things, but I like the second one:

Declare a Twitter sabbath. Observant Jews go without electronics — without turning on electricity! — from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday. You don’t have to keep kosher to discover the benefits of 24 hours offline each week. If a day without e-mail feels unimaginable, try a day without Twitter. I went three whole days (!) this past long-weekend, and enjoyed the opportunity to experience memorable moments without boiling them down to 140 characters.

It’s worth attempting, though I think I’d have to shut the power off in the apartment to achieve it.

I sometimes feel like I’m spreading myself a little thin. I recently became the National Republican Examiner, plus I have about four other blogs I update pretty regularly, including my “home blog”. This one has been sadly neglected, I’m afraid! I also spend way too much time on Twitter – turns out I have a 400-tweet-per-day habit. Is there a patch for this?

I have to admit, the Twitter habit has gotten a little out of control. I was working on a project yesterday, and kept getting distracted by life in 140 characters or less. Perhaps I should have attempted to write my synopsis 140 characters at a time – it might have gotten finished!

It’s Sunday morning, you’re up early, the house is still quiet. And, like any self-respecting blogger, you take this time to meditate, set-up your day and plan what you’ll do with the family, today. Not!

That’s what you know you should do. But, instead, you wander over to your computer, check your blog for comments, check your subscriber and traffic stats and maybe crank out a quick post or video. Then, you jump on twitter to check your timeline, follower numbers and reply to any @’s or dm’s.

A few minutes later, the kids wander out and your day really begins. Breakfast, then the day’s activities. It’s all great fun, yet, you still find yourself reveling in those random moments in the rest-room, where you linger a few extra seconds to check your e-mail, IM, twitter and stats once more on your trusty iPhone.

The above is from ProBlogger, a guest post by Jonathan Fields. It kinda resonates.

Woke up midday today – normal for a Sunday – and reached for my CrackBerry first thing. Sent some SMS messages, replied to an email, checked Twitter (naturally). I basically stayed in bed an extra hour to do this. The synopsis still isn’t written, but I’ve done two blog posts already (this will be my third). Not so much with the productive!

So I guess when I say – like I did at the start of this post – that I spread myself thin, I mean I spread myself stupid. There’s no reason why I can’t get my work done and play around on Twitter and email if I so desire. It’s all about prioritizing.

The synopsis will get done today. Just watch me.