Twitter is not just a new-fangled way for kids to stay connected, it a communication tool with a million different uses. A growing number of companies are already utilizing this social networking tool to maintain brand awareness, connect with customers and protect their image.

Bank of America, for instance, has become the largest financial institution in the world to use Twitteras a tool for customer service. What makes BofA’s use of Twitter so remarkable is that they are using a real person with a real name and an actual photo (not a logo or other avatar). Using the twitter handle @BofA_help, David Knapp is Bank of America’s Twitter Representative. I was amazed and impressed to discover that he is not just a CSR appointed to be the “face of Bank of America” on twitter, but David is actually the senior vice president and market manager for middle market commercial banking. I was also delighted by how genuine and immediate his responses were.