I was extremely skeptical about Twitter when I first heard about it. I even blasted it as a “fad” in a previous post. And while I’m still not convinced that Twitter has real long term value, I do agree it does have value — at least for right now. And now that I’ve changed my position on the current value of Twitter, I finally signed up and started tweeting.

What is Twitter?

Rather than quote the Twitter party line, here’s my interpretation:

Twitter is a communication tool with a community twist. It blends features of instant messaging with microblogging. Blast your random thoughts, questions, or updates on what you’re doing right now to the general Twitter population in 140 characters or less. Don’t care to “share” your thoughts with everyone on Twitter? No problem just disable that feature and keep your tweets for just your group of followers.

Did I just say “followers?” Yep, that’s how you build community in Twitter, you follow other Twitters and they in turn might just follow you (it’s kind of like the “buddy list” from instant messaging). You can update your Twitter message and track others from the Twitter web site, or by using a third party application you can select from a rapidly growing list. Got a Google Talk account? Perfect, configure your Twitter account to send new tweets (that’s what they call Twitter messages) to that account. If you become really obsessed, then you can receive updates via your cell phone (standard text messaging rates apply). And that is only the beginning of what you can do with Twitter. You really need to try it to completely appreciate what it can do.

Why I finally started with Twitter?

I never did appreciate what Twitter was capable of, matter of fact I originally turned my nose up at it. What turned me around was when John C Dvorak finally signed up and said it had value. I don’t know John personally, but I listen to the Twit netcast (no relation to Twitter) of which he is a regular guest. John had originally taken the stance that Twitter was a waste of time; however, he changed his mind. Hey, if John C. Dvorak can change his mind and give it a try, so can I.

Twitter is useful but it can also become an obsession, which is gives it a fad-like quality. Therefore while there is value today, the likelihood that Twitter will flame out and die is pretty high. That’s not a “prediction” it’s just a “hunch.”

If you’ve been resisting Twitter, I encourage you to give it a try if for nothing else than to better understand what everyone is talking about. You’re welcome to “follow” me (http://twitter.com/TechTraction) and in turn I will “follow” you (just let me know you signed up so I’ll know to add you to my list — I don’t follow everyone that follows me).

Share, Bookmark, or Email this post

If you liked this post, subscribe to TechTraction's RSS feed or TechTraction's email feed

Filed under: Tech Commentary