All of a sudden, this week only, every blogger seems to be writing about Twitter, the cool new service for updating all your nearest followers as to what you’re doing right now by answering the simple question, “what are you doing?” What am I doing, that’s a reasonable question, but why would you, or anyone else want to know if you don’t already know me? Seems like a better question, but I’m not sure what the answer is. I suppose it has something to do with adding value to your world. Well not your world, but the worlds of anyone who decides to follow my Twitter feed.
Nevertheless, or needless to say, I started my twittering in late January of this year, and I couldn’t figure it out. I wasn’t really talking to anyone, and my account just kind of sat there looking back at me wondering when I would begin to understand what this service was for. Early March rolls around, and I’m still looking blankly at the space for 140 characters, not knowing what to do. I start twittering a bit more, and I begin to add the authors of blogs I follow. And here we have it, the space between blogging and emailing — Twitter.
Do you hear me? The space between blogging and emailing. Twitter.
Then the SXSW conference hit, and there was all sorts of Twitter activity taking place, from updates about the panels to flash mobs at the pubs. This was my biggest draw to making an active effort toward Twittering. The idea that you and your followers could meet up in real life and have a beer. And between meeting up and having beers, you stay in touch and spread ideas. Or nonsense. Whatever, whenever, just keep it to 140 characters.