WHAT IS TWITTER?
You might have heard about that online application with the funny name called Twitter. Twitter lets users transmit short, 140 character messages called tweets, to the web. I use the word transmit because you don’t necessarily send your tweet to any particular user, you’re just broadcasting your message. (You can send out direct messages also.) No one actually receives your message unless someone searches for a word contained in your tweets. People who are following you will also receive your message.
WHAT IS FOLLOWING?
Following someone on Twitter lets you see all of the messages they are broadcasting. When they tweet, it shows up on your Twitter homepage. The same happens for them if they follow you on Twitter.
Here are some common reasons why people follow others on Twitter:
- Share Similar Interests
- Person’s Tweets are Interesting
- Person’s Tweets are funny
- Person’s Tweets have links that are Interesting
- The person Tweeting/Twittering is famous, rich, or intelligent
WHAT’S THE PURPOSE?
Twitter markets itself as a online communication app. I’ve also heard it referred to as a micro-blogging application. It can also be used as an instant messaging tool or for quick emails. It can also be seen as a social networking site. Having said that, what exactly is Twitter and what is it’s purpose?
IT’S PURPOSE IS THE SECRET TO TWITTER’S SUCCESS
One of the main reasons why I think that Twitter will be a big success is they let the users determine what they think the purpose of Twitter is. The people behind Twitter were smart enough to build the forum in which people can do all of the things discussed previously. They created the infrastructure then they stepped back and watched to see what the users wanted to do with it. It’s like putting a bunch of people in one room and saying, “OK, decide what the purpose of this gathering is.” Some people will use this experience as an opportunity to make friends, some will stick to talking to people they already know, some will try to solicit business, some will try to exchange useful information. That’s what Twitter is like. Twitter is just the place where people can communicate with one another. Twitter is the virtual meeting place. As long as Twitter allows the users to determine the purpose of Twitter, and not the other way around, they will be successful.
TWITTER AS A DYNAMIC FORUM
Forums are those websites where people with similar interests gather and talk about a specific topic. They share information and tips with one another and answer each others’ questions. Talking about something unrelated is a big no no when it comes to forums. You are required to stay on topic or you may potentially be banned. Twitter allows for dynamic forums to be created instantaneously. Here’s an example. Let’s say I like BMW’s (which I do.) If I tweet something about BMW’s, then someone who is searching for that particular term will find my tweets as well as everyone else who has mentioned BMW. If you choose to add those people, then you have just created/joined a BMW forum. Of course someone might have mentioned in their tweet that they actually hate BMW’s. Well, you get the idea. It’s not perfect, but at least you don’t get banned or kicked for being off topic.
TWITTER FOR NEWS
Here in Los Angeles, we have grown accustomed to the occasional earthquake. Sometimes the tremors are rather small and I wonder, “was that an earthquake?” If I really wanted to know, I could go to Google and it would tell me the most recent earthquakes; or I could go to Twitter and search for earthquakes. If there actually was one, then I would find a bunch of people saying stuff like, “Holy crap, did you guys feel that?” Since some people are on their computers when it happens and many others have Twitter applications on their Blackberry and iPhones, and others text messages to Twitter from their cellphone, the response rates are very fast. I’m not sure that it’s faster than Google, but it’s a heck of a lot faster than TV or the newspaper. I also find it more interesting to see people saying, “Holy crap,” a minute after it just happened, rather than just reading the next day’s newspaper that simply reads “4.3 earthquake in Calabasas.”
TWITTER AS A CONTEXTUAL SEARCH ENGINE
Twitter can also be thought of as an open discussion. Unlike an instant messenger or email, tweets aren’t made to be private. In addition to the conversation being public, it is also being archived. This means that I can search for the term earthquake, and find out what people were saying last time there was an earthquake. Because the tweets have timestamps, I can look for, “did you feel that,” and see when the last time someone said that exactly. This would be tough to do on Google because Google prioritizes the search listing based on which sites are most popular and relevant to your search, not by time. Google also takes a few hours to a few days to find and index new information. It might even take a week or so to find all of the information that people have posted. With Twitter, you can find out what everyone on Twitter has said within seconds.
Conclusion
It’s exciting to think about the potential that Twitter has. It is one of those things that get more useful the more people use it. We’ll have to wait and see.
Try it out. Sign up for your own Twitter account. It’s free.
Don’t forget to add me: www.twitter.com/egeniuses
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