What is Twitter? (my take)

This has been covered immensely in the tech news sources, but last night an acquaintance once again asked, “What the hell is Twitter?” so I thought I’d try and commit a friendly response to paper.

Twitter is a website that allows you to micro-blog. What is micro-blogging? Micro-blogging is somehow easily sending out sentences or short paragraphs to people who want to read them, as opposed to regular blogging, which is longer posts, photos, etc.

Why would you want to do this you may ask? Well, it only works if you are followed and you follow interesting people. It can be a broadcast of status to friends “Trish: I’m so sick.” This is a common message on Facebook statuses, another form of micro-blogging. It’s an important message to receive if you care about Trish, but just noise if she’s a passing acquaintance.

Other tweets (Twitter posts) are just open calls for attention or conversation. When you tweet that you liked a particular SNL skit, you are hoping a follower will chime and continue the conversation, thus creating human discourse and one tier of Maslov’s fulfillment.

Professionally Twitter is a little more niche. Some tweets are from publishers who feel they have random domain insights and followers who want to read them. This could be a natural set-up for columnists with followings or consultants who want to espouse to support their brand. Like the personal messages, professional tweets are no good without an audience. It seems like a lot of these are people tweeting about new media to people in new media.

One other mildly interesting aspect of Twitter is when you follow the tweets as a whole. It provides a chaotic, invalidated snapshot of a current moment, as seen recently during the Mumbai attacks. While it is not a reliable source, it is interesting as whirlwind of kneejerk reaction and rumor. I do not have time though to follow events so closely to be also interested in the conjecture, so I generally turn to CNN.

Personally, I’m all done with Twitter, both reading and publishing. I liked the interface and I have quick thumbs. However no one who cares what I have to say is on twitter, or even knows what it is.

The larger problem with Twitter is that it makes no money and it is really a commodity that can be reproduced on any website where people gather. For example Time could easily let Joe Klein, noted political columnist, post quick messages from his phone during a major address like the inauguration. A micro-blogger with a keen eye, quick wit, and really fast thumbs can provide a unique fly on the wall perspective of events closed to the public or to audiences not near a TV. The problem for Twitter is that Time could do that without using their software. Others are adopting the functionality all the time, including Tumblr and Movable Type.

Relate Links:
Twitter
My Twitter Page (which I’m threatening to abandon)
Wikipedia on Twitter
Wikipedia on “micro-blogging”
Techcrunch: Twitter Hiring Product Manager To Bring In The Revenue
Techcrunch: If You Can’t Beat Em, Join Em. Movable Type’s Motion is Microblogging In a Box