I knocked Twitter before I tried ( [link to post] ) & BOY was I wrong. But I really don’t get foursquare.. don’t think i will

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Thanks for you comment. Great points! Again, I think the overarching theme here is being able to filter through the cruft to get to useful information. I do like the thought of being able to connect with friends/family. I’m still skeptical, but can see some of the uses.

I will admit that there is something strangely mesmerizing with that 140 char text limit. On one hand it seems very limiting, but on the other you just seem *compelled* to write something! I’m sure Twitter brings out some interesting personality traits, quirks, and linguistic slips that would otherwise be masked by a well thought out email or blog post.

And, to your point, there definitely are opportunities to stay connected at a business level and keep plugged in to new technology, news, and developments.

Great post. I’ve been on twitter for awhile now and I do see some value to it although I agree that 90% is static. Here are some specific uses once you cut through that static:

1. Being a technophile, I follow industry leaders and pundits. Their tweets keep me in the loop on new products and services that are just hitting the web. This also applies to news organizations like CNN, where breaking stories are broadcast as they happen. Or to broadcast medium that advertise their shows. I always know when Leo Laporte has a show on twitlive.tv, because he tweets right before he broadcasts.

2. Friends/family. I get to keep up on the lives and goings-on of the people I care about. They won’t always tell me about something they are doing specifically, but they twitter it and I get to know about it.

3. Product service support. This is something that I think may be extremely valuable for companies that troll the “twittersphere” for keywords. For example, the P.R. manager at our work keeps an eye on tweets with specific brand-related keywords. So if someone is touting our product or dissing it, he can respond and help them or pass along something that we may be doing right. This is all real-time and I tell you, the people that get engaged in this dialog are always surprised and happy that our company is paying attention and available to help.

These are just a few ways that twitter has improved my experience online.

Thanks for your comment on my blog! I think you have a good point. Ultimately it’s about adding value on these services, and knowing how to filter through the cruft of irrelevant information. Although I’m skeptical, I still do plan to give Twitter a short whirl and see what the buzz is all about. I can commit to at least trying for a week

Many say “I don’t get it” with LinkedIn and the lot of them. I think those who find a few places to add value get return from all.

For me, twitter is starting to join the ranks of LinkedIn and Facebook as these are three that have generated a financial return on my time (avg time = :15/day), not to mention new contacts with endless possibilities – I am here because of twitter and look forward to learning about your blog!

I think your comment is spot on… I’m sure narcissism plays a huge part.

Jamie,

Thanks, I’ll have to check that out.

Radek,

Thanks for the link… very interesting.

http://www.brazencareerist.com/2008/06/23/my-new-study-explains-why-people-use-twitter/

The only twitter stream that has been worth keeping up with is that of the Mars Phoenix team: http://twitter.com/MarsPhoenix. Having someone enter status updates about an emerging situ is a good use of this communications medium.