Twittering on Twitter is a topic, that I have been discussing with my colleagues and friends for the last one year or so. We have had many heated arguments and sometime fun “status wars” on IM, FB & Twitter. Questions like the below kept coming up countless times in our discussion, without a conclusive end.
Twitter
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- Is it worth your time?
- Isn’t micro blogging pointless?
- What is the purpose of Twittering?
- Can you really follow all your friends and not be lost?
These are just a few of the questions that come to one’s mind when you talk about Twitter. On one side we have Twitter maniacs, who are absolutely in love with it and on the other, we have people like me who really don’t understand the hype it is receiving. It’s come to a point where I’ve started hearing words like “it’s twitterific!” etc.
This does make me wonder, is it really worth it the effort? Very recently, I had asked a question on LinkedIn “Twitter Yes Or Twitter No” and received a mixed bag of answers; As expected, some hate it, some like it and a few who just do not care. Even post this question and 29 answers later, this topic is still open. I guess to really know, you have to use Twitter yourself and make your decision based on your objective and experience.
Some of the answers to my question on LI are worth quoting:
Paul O’Brien: My point is that when EVERYONE does it it becomes noise, like radio or TV on which all the channels are constantly playing at the same time. The same way the internet has been searching for a better way to consume all the information online (first directories, then search, then RSS, etc.) Twitter has to evolve from what it is now to really be worth it.
Scott Graham: By building personal relationships with the customers who use your services you become a part of their life, and Twitter helps you do that.
Twitter will work for some of you and it might not for most of us, either way it is an excellent tool to be updated in real-time about events, news and people. I will update this topic again in a week or two.. so long!
Okay, so I’m back and have actively started Twittering to give a fair and balanced review. So far, I am loving it and it give’s me something that no other platform provides.. i.e to follow people and topics in realtime.
Earlier, I thought it served a purpose from a business or brand perspective only, but now after using it just for 2 days (actively), I think I see why people love twitter so much. It is not a tool to keep in touch with a 1000 friends, but rather a tool or means to effectively update and be updated in real time about people and issues that are of interest to you.
So, signing off with the conclusion: TWITTER YES!
