There is an excellent write-up over on the Larvatus Prodeo blog written by Phil Gomes from Spinopsys in which he writes about his recent experiences with Twitter, the microblogging service that I’ve been using to keep you updated on The FredCast as well as to live blog the Tour de France..
Phil gives an excellent summary of Twitter, and I wanted to expand a little bit on what he had to say and give my two cents on why I continue to use and love Twitter.
When I first heard of Twitter I thought that it was just for people who work in the tech field and who feel the need to constantly keep their other tech buddies up-to-date on their latest acquisition, promotion, stock option vesting, etc. I figured that it was a service populated by code monkeys, tech marketing types, Leo Laporte, Amber MacArthur, etc.
Nevertheless, on a lark (and despite the ridicule from my family and friends), I decided to sign-up for the service. I thought that it might be a fun way to keep my podcast listeners engaged or, at least, amused.
Pretty soon I found that quite a few of my listeners began following my constant musings and daily activities. When I was forced to work at a boring trade show for my day job, several of the listeners kept me entertained, amused, and awake through direct messages mocking the guys in the booths nearby. When I got a flat tire – and then a second – on a recent ride, I was the subject of the Twitter mockery and it kept a smile on my face during an otherwise non-smile-worthy event.
Like Phil, I also decided to do a live real-time microblog of the events at this year’s Tour de France through Twitter. I created a separate Twitter persona just for this purpose and before I knew it I had over 70 followers. I firmly believe that between the 3 or 4 of us who were live Twittering the Tour (Phil, Frank, Ken, and others) someone who wasn’t able to watch the TV coverage could easily follow all of the action. Isn’t that what technology like this was made for?
Besides the Tour de France live Twittering, Twitter can also keep you up-to-date on news updates from the BBC, Fox News, CNN, etc. and is also used for such public service agencies as the Los Angeles Fire Department. What a great way to keep a large number of people informed!
In a similar vein, Twitter could be used to replace the live update blogs that pop up around such events as the MacWorld keynote address. Getting live updates ‘pushed’ to mobile phones and instant message clients is far better than being tethered to a computer, constantly hitting the refresh button over and over again. Yes, I admit that I’ve been one of those people, and it’s always made me feel like a complete dork. Or perhaps just an Apple fanboy (which I am).
Of course, Twitter was really designed for social networking. It was designed to answer the simple question: What are you doing? And this is where my family and friends are finally eating their words. No longer do they think I have lost my mind because I keep telling the world, in 140 characters or less, what’s going on in my life (or mind). They’ve all signed up for Twitter accounts too and have gotten their friends and family to sign up for the service. It is a strange, simple, addictive service and one which I intend to use for some time to come.
So join the Twitterers . . . er, Twits . . . er, Twitter Makers . . . never mind! Just go to twitter.com and sign-up for the service. You’ll feel a bit strange at first, but it will grow on you. Of that I am sure.
Have you seen the new Garmin Edge cycling GPS units? All I can say is, ‘wow!’
