It was really only a matter of time and two days ago, on Wednesday 28th January 2009, it happened. I finally 'got'
Twitter.
Or
Twitter finally 'got' me, I'm not sure which is more correct.
I signed up with a
Twitter account some time ago but have never really understood why it was deserving of my time, never feeling that I was getting back anything worth the effort I was putting in.
After further
prompting from Cybersoc I pushed myself to explore the world of suitable PC and mobile applications that might change the balance, pushing me over the edge and into the group of regular twitterers.
A couple of less successful attempts later and it was finally the combination of
TwitterFox on the PC and
Twibble on my N95 that did the trick.
These apps allow me to use
twitter, to post tweets and read other people's updates, without having to constantly visit the website on my computer or mobile phone.
They bring Twitter to me, rather than me having to keep going to Twitter and check for updates.
It has only been 48 hours since the revolution but I'm fairly sure that the job is done. I've been converted and this, I think, is why.
Twitter fulfills a number of different conversational requirements that other methods of communication don't do very well.
The ConversationI know many people that I would like to speak to quite frequently but I generally don't have the time, or am not in a suitable place, for a proper phone conversation, let alone a face to face chat.
Twitter allows a one-to-one conversation to take place over a period of hours, days or longer, with each small piece of the conversation fitting into the small, convenient gaps I have in my day.
Yes, it's true that these 'conversations' can generally be followed by anyone else paying attention to my twitter stream - but if I'm chatting over coffee or talking on the phone in the office or the street then there are just as many random strangers listening in anyway.
There are other tools for this kind of interaction,
Facebook and email to name just two, but the 140 character limit on Twitter really keeps each segment short, simple and, above all, convenient.
The AnnouncementThe Twitter mechanism is equally useful for asking a question, soliciting feedback or making an announcement to multiple people at the same time.
I've long been a fan of
Facebook for it's ability to communicate in this way with a large group of 'friends' in the same moment.
Twitter isn't necessarily any better then
Facebook for this purpose but, here's the key, by installing the
twitter application on
my Facebook profile, my
Facebook status now updates automatically with
my Twitter updates.
So I'm still using Facebook as much as before, but now I'm using Twitter as well, with no extra effort. Two birds, one stone, etc.
The GossipThis is for those in the "I'd really like to know what everyone else/that person is doing" category. And let's face it, there's a bit of that in all of us.
With Facebook, and other similar social networking sites, you need to obtain a reciprocated 'friend' link with somebody before you can start seeing each others status updates.
With Twitter, if you can find them, you can 'follow' them, and keep an eye on whatever they wish to share with the world.
Along with
90,000+ other Twitter users I am following the well known comic, TV personality and general genius
Stephen Fry.
He doesn't know me, we've never met, he doesn't need to accept my friend request or agree to share any web-relationship-status with me.
But I can still tell you that he had a "
Lunch of oysters and sole at Quo Vadis" today and
obtained a visa for travelling to Mexico yesterday afternoon and, for the small part of me that likes to share gossip and see what other people get up to, this is both interesting and enjoyable.
I can still see why people don't 'get' it, why it seems unnecessary or without obvious benefit.
I, however, now have a different problem to solve.
There are only so many hours in the day.
Take away life's essentials such as sleeping, eating and going to the pub and what's left is an unsatisfactory number of 'web hours' available.
I am already struggling to keep up with my overflowing RSS reader, my neglected blogs in need of a new post, and my Facebook friends waiting for overdue replies to messages. How is Twitter going to help with any of that?
Labels: social media, Twitter
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