POULSBO — With the familiar clickity-clack of a computer keyboard Suzanne Droppert swiftly pulls to her screen what many have called a phenomenon. It’s Tuesday morning, just after 9 a.m., and already today she’s visited this sensation once before.

Sitting at her desk inside Liberty Bay Books, haloed by shelves of hardbacks, Droppert swivels the screen for a better view. What occurs on her monitor is a virtual universe, a booming trend that has thousands chirping its praises: Twitter.

And Droppert is hoping it’s good for business.

She grows animated as she talks, explaining how the site was recommended to her as a free marketing tool.

“I kind of had heard of it, and I thought, ‘Geez,'” she said, her eyes briefly rolling toward the ceiling. But Droppert signed up for the site soon after, uploaded a picture of her downtown shop and began searching for similar booksellers. Her Twitter account now has 256 followers — that’s 256 fellow Twitter users in-the-know on Droppert’s upcoming events, new products and reading ruminations.

“I think in this day and age so many people are connected to the computer,” Droppert noted. “It’s another way to communicate with possible customers and your community.”

Twitter, a 3-year-old micro-blogging social network site, allows its users to answer the question “What are you doing?” in 140 characters or less. Users can post these updates — called Tweets, and can read the Tweets of friends, favorite news media, actors, authors and others. Twitter has taken off in popularity, thanks in part to a host of recent media coverage crediting it for everything from celebrity break-ups to the newest in surgical teaching techniques (Yes, some surgeons now Tweet while performing brain surgery). From posts by politicians to company executives to news anchors, Twitter has molded a new venue for the digitally minded Web community.

Like Droppert, Poulsbo Perk owner John Boyle saw business potential in Twitter. His store takes to the site to remind customers of daily specials, and gives a free drink to local Twitter users who add the coffee shop to their list of feeds to follow.

“Twitter gave us the opportunity to go online to let our customers know that we’re thinking about them even though they’re not at our door,” explained Boyle. “We see this as really a two-way channel. It’s not just about us providing promotions. It’s for our customers to reach back to us and say ‘Hey, we did a great job’ or ‘Hey, my drink was cold.’ … We can respond to that in real time.”

Boyle began Twitter for his shop in January. The feed posts more than just promotions: It includes localized tidbits and coffee-related information, from ideas of what to do around town to commentary on the weather.

And Boyle doesn’t think the Twitter fad will end anytime soon. Instead, he’s forecasting it as a future way for customers to submit drink orders. He said his shop, an “early adopter” of the technology, will be ready to meet the demand when it’s there.

Port Gamble assistant wedding and events coordinator Valarie Levengood has taken to Twitter in the past week to update followers on the turn-of-the-century mill town’s happenings, including upcoming events and updates on the Hood Canal Vista Pavilion project.

“I started using Twitter a few months ago personally to start following my friends and what’s going on. As the Twitter phenomenon has taken off, I decided it would be a really good tool for us to use to promote things that are going on in Port Gamble,” Levengood said. “It seemed like a perfect fit for what we’re doing out here.”

Levengood has also posted a Twitter badge on Port Gamble’s Web site to make the town’s feed easier to find.

Back at Liberty Bay Books, Droppert scrolls through her iPhone, ticking down Twitter updates on her mobile application. She says 140 characters is just the right amount, making the time needed to update a feed minimal. Plus, “I feel that it keeps me informed,” she said.

Visit Twitter to follow feeds of these businesses. Get daily updates from around North Kitsap via feeds from the North Kitsap Herald, Editor Celeste Cornish, Poulsbo reporter Jennifer Morris and Schools and Sports reporter Brian J. Olson.