Twitter has never been more important for small businesses. With nearly every major company using Twitter, every small business has the potential to increase traffic with a simple retweet by a big name. Since that opportunity exists, it’s vital for companies to make sure that they’re using Twitter in the best possible way. And with that comes the launch of Retweet, a service created by Kieron Donoghue that can deeply analyze how effectively Twitter is working for companies.

After logging into Retweet with their Twitter handles, users are directed to a timeline of tweets sent out, where they can see how many times each of the posts have been retweeted. Retweet can then sort out which particular tweets have been retweeted the most, and can calculate how often it’s been read based on how many followers the retweeters have. (Note: Can you imagine reading this paragraph in 2006? Wouldn’t all of this ‘tweet and retweet’ chatter have come off as completely alien language back then?) Donaghue believes this information can be very useful to Twitter users. In an interview with The Next Web, Donaghue stated that “If certain individuals or organizations are always retweeting you, you can reach out to these ambassadors.” Another function that Retweet offers is a “Who You Retweet” button, where users can see which people they’ve retweeted the most. This could be useful for users, in that they can get an understanding of which tweeters influence them the most and reflect on the image they’re trying to project.

While there are plenty of Twitter tracking services already available, the retweet is an essential part of the Twitter universe. It’s what turns Twitter from being a simple place where people write what’s on their mind in 140 characters into a real community. With retweeting, every single person and small company has a chance to make a major statement on a huge stage at any moment. That give and take is what links all tweeters together. Having a site that monitors that communal element so closely could be very useful.