• by Mark Walsh  @markfwal, June 12, 2009

Forget Internet Week. That was just a warm up for something much bigger -- Twitter Week. True, it's not official, but the micro-blogging sensation has spawned a pair of conferences in New York next week, kicking off with Twitter Boot Camp on Monday. Commence rapid and constant in-panel thumb-texting.

Run by digital guru and "Web 2.0" coiner Tim O'Reilly, the one-day training session promises to "put you in the catbird seat by showing you exactly how to put this powerful and effective tool to work for your business or organization." Panel topics included "Twitter and Rules of Engagement" and "Lessons from the Twitterfront," with war stories from battle-hardened brands including Dunkin' Donuts, Zappos, and WholeFoods.

On hand to help mold raw recruits is Sarah Milstein, co-author with O'Reilly of "The Twitter Book," which sounds like an oxymoron but serves as a field manual for navigating the landmine-filled Twitter terrain. If you survive boot camp, it's on to Jeff Pulver's 140 Characters Conference, also held at the subterranean New World Stages complex in midtown.

Pulver, another tech maven, will serve as guide to the lighter side of Twitter, exploring its impact on celebrity, media, advertising and politics. There's even a genuine Twitter celebrity in the mix with Wycleaf Jean on the bill. (Not counting CNN's Rick Sanchez.) But wait, it gets even better. The two conferences are also being offered as a package deal for $1,100, with O'Reilly putting in an appearance at 140 Characters.

Or, you could just stay home and read that Time cover story on Twitter last week. (It's actually far less breathless than the cover image of an iHhone with a Tweet from auther @stephanbjohnson reading "I've written this week's TIME cover story about how Twitter wil change the way we live" would have you believe.)