What’s in a Tweet? Some Thoughts on Twitter
So one unexpected consequence of my flirtation with FriendFeed is that I finally started to use Twitter. The “Microblogging” service has always been one of those websites I never quite understood, much like the “social bookmarking” site del.icio.us before it. I always thought “well, why wouldn’t you just blog/email/IM instead?” But since everyone else on FriendFeed has a Twitter account, and I actually knew a few people “tweeting,” I figured I’d give it a shot.
And now I’m addicted.
My transformation happened slowly. First, I integrated Twitter with Facebook so that it would update my FB status. Next I set up IM support for Twitter in Digsby (this is before the recent plugin) so that I could update without going to the website. After this, for some unexplained reason, I just kept using the service. More and more, I updated “What I was Doing” on Twitter. Soon, I wasn’t just telling people my status, but recording passing thoughts that didn’t necessitate an entire blog. That’s when the genius of Twitter struck me: 140 characters is more than enough to convey an idea (or two) that you want to share, but is too short to warrant proper blogging. And thus, my conversion was complete.
If you haven’t already notice, I added my Twitter feed to the right-side of the screen if you want to keep track of my actions and ideas in between blog posts. I think it’s a great way to keep readers updated even when I haven’t blogged proper in a while (feel free to follow me if you’re a twitter user, btw). Best of all, Twitter has me thinking more about blogging and writing than I have in months. Happy tweeting!
You see, young grasshopper, you must find for yourself what Twitter is about. There’s really no way to tell someone how it will benefit them. I’ve got all kinds of kooky reasons for using it. Maybe I’ll blog about it someday!