Tonight was where I broke 10,000 tweets on the popular communication platform, Twitter. I’ve had quite an interesting time using this platform and I think it might take more than 140 characters to give you my own personal “state of the Twitterverse” post, so here’s a quick dip into a blog post to tell you what’s on my mind with regards to Twitter, how I use it, and where I hope it goes.
From The Beginning
Twitter’s value to me has been fairly obvious from the beginning. I used it to connect to people, some who I knew, but lots who I admired and appreciated remotely. Twitter gave me access to folks who I don’t normally communicate with in a day, and it gave me a strong connection to folks in my real world who mattered.
Scaling is Tricky
There’s a difference between having 30 or so followers/friends and having 2000 or so. I can’t actually “read” every tweet that comes across the general feed. So instead, I dip in. I take the occasional stroll into the stream, see what’s going on, and comment here and there if I’ve something to add. I’ve also had to use Twittersearch.com and Terraminds.com to search out when people are mentioning me, because I don’t want to miss something going by. I don’t always reply, because it gets a little tricky to do so when I get lots of replies (like when I ask a question), but I at least see what you’ve said. So thank you for that.
How I Use Twitter
I use Twitter a few different ways. I use it like Jeff Pulver often does, as part of his “social media livingroom.” I use it as a way to feel connected to people. First and foremost, that’s a benefit to Twitter.
However, I also use it quite often as a human version of search and opinion gathering. I ask questions all the time. Sometimes, I just ask them to stimulate conversation. But other times, I ask them with nothing more in mind than to stir up conversations.
I use Twitter ALL THE TIME when I’m lost. There’s nothing like thousands of people with Google Maps and smarts to help me out of binds. And I’m always lost.
I use Twitter to find news, and news people. I use Twitter to meet neat guys and heroes. I use it to reach out into space and find humans.
Still Not Getting It?
That’s okay. It’s not for everyone. Twitter is how most of the US started to think about the Internet mingling with their phones. It’s how lots of us started to use SMS a little differently. It’s a way for lots of us to feel more than what we used to feel about passing folks along the Internet. I think Twitter is also a modern chat room, but better.
So Now that 10,000 Have Passed
Nothing much different. I’ll use it the same way tomorrow. I’ll still use it to increase awareness for other people’s cool projects (we used Twitter to send a girl to college, and to wish someone Happy Birthday 100 times). I’ll just tweet things here and there. It’s an awareness tool.
Answer this question more often than you answer “what are you doing?” Answer this one: “What has your attention?” It’s a MUCH better question to answer, in my not nearly humble opinion.
And thanks to everyone who’s on there and making it fun.
