I’ve increasingly referenced Twitter, and I’d like to take a step back just in case you’re unsure of what Twitter is, or what it can do. I’ve seen it called a different take on instant messaging or a micro blog… But boiled down Twitter is a network of users that does one thing very well – post 140 character messages.
I personally started using Twitter about a year ago to see what it was about since everyone on the tech blogs and podcasts couldn’t shut up about it [my Twitter page]… My initial use for it was as a tool to update my Facebook status and a piece of my blog at the same time. It did that well for that purpose, and over time I began to see trends in how it’s used in different markets. I’ve since severed Twitter from my Facebook status and began to treat it as a separate social network, a blogging tool, and as a source of entertainment.
It’s a social network in that you get to follow whoever you want, and interact with them.
Entertainment? Yeah… There’s some funny stuff on there… I follow a number of people that post every once in a while for the simple reason of humor / entertainment. Like Steve Buscemi, Christopher Walken, Trent Reznor, or even someone pretending to be Cobra Commander or Bender.
But the people who use it the best are those that understand the power and use of web 2.0 and social media in general. People like Pete Cashmore and Kevin Rose are the obvious kings, but it’s becoming more of a tool to use within the consumer marketplace. I was able to see when Trent Reznor launched a site for his upcoming tour giving away free songs. I get daily updates from Amazon giving me the daily MP3 deals.
You see where I’m going? It’s a tool for small, bite sized pieces of information to get to a large number of people quickly. This can be to drive targeted sales, drive internet traffic, increase awareness, or communicate small things to friends and enemies.
Twitter’s impact has been steadily growing to where it’s quite powerful in more than a few ways. It helped get the knowledge of a student being arrested in Egypt and resulted in a quicker release (CNN). It also had an impact within the judicial process from a juror using it in the middle of a trial (Yahoo news). I’m sure it’s going to continue to make an impact in the near future.
But, I’m not sure if this really helps anyone. I’ve just seen more than a few people not getting Twitter, and I was in the same boat until I gave it a shot… I’ve been hoping more of my friends would join in on it, so please let me know if you do.