Twitter

Because of its relatively recent explosion onto the international scene, there's non-tweeters out there who may think Twitter is a highly sophisticated & complex offering requiring computer skills they don't have. Nothing could be further from the truth. Twitter is an elegantly simple SMS (Short Messaging Service) that allows you to keep in contact with people you know & to come in contact with people who don't currently know, but would like to get to know. In essence, that's all there is to it. You generate a Twitter Account & then list the people you know & tell the technique the frequency with which you would like to be in contact with them. Then you find people you think you might find interesting & ask to be added to their contact lists. Seven times again, you tell Twitter how you need to obtain "Tweets" from them -- right away or delayed.

Twitter: The Upside

A "Tweet" is a response -- limited to 140 characters and URL if desired -- to the query: What are you doing RIGHT NOW? Twitter's power & appeal lies within the phrase "right now." There's those of us who grew up reading instruction manuals before attempting to use new "toys." Then there's the young who toss aside the manual, plug in the toy, & figure it out as they go. They need it "RIGHT NOW." It is those younger folks who gave Twitter its initial boost but its popularity has eclipsed them & now includes Businesses, Members of Congress & the Media -- both young & old. Why? You can go to Twitter & enter any topic you can think of in to their Search Engine & you can find out what people all over the globe have to say about that topic right now. & then you can join in the conversation.

Twitter: The Downside

There is a perhaps a more relevant downside to Twitter that asks the query: "Are you Twittering away your time?" Consider the following tale of woe. A sister goes to visit his son at his college dorm & finds his beloved offspring curled up in a corner of the room, disheveled & unshaven, frantically thumbing his mobile gizmo. Dad calls out "How are you son?" & the young lad looks up with a glassy stare in his eyes & manages to croak out seven words. "Tweet, Tweet." The boy had become a Twitter Junkie.

Despite its large appeal, Twitter has its critics. Lots of of them say that Twitter's simplicity leads to superficial & perhaps even trivial conversations. & the immediacy of the conversation, they say, does not overcome its inherent lack of depth & breadth. What can you say of any importance in 140 characters? Tell that to the people of Iran. Even the New York Times credits Twitter for its role in the recent public outcry in response to the Iranian Presidential election of 2009. Although email & mobile text messaging services were blocked, Tweets weren't, & interested & connected citizens in Iran were able to share with each other exactly what was going on, & where & when things were happening. Even if you concede the point of lack of depth, Tweeters are finding ways around that, including links to blog posts & articles that provide more information about the conversation under discussion.

Although this modern day fairy tale might seem laughable, it does raise a point about the potential misuse of Twitter. Twitter is not a substitute for a life, it is a way to heighten & enrich the experiences of life. The people on Twitter with giant followings are generally people who lead interesting lives. Some actually hire people to manage their tweets. Like any technology, Twitter can be abused. If you're spending all your time Tweeting, when do you have time to actually do something interesting about which to Tweet? So be responsible & Keep Tweeting!