I'm not under 40. I don't own a blackberry. You can't circle the globe with my circle of friends all needing to stay instantaneously in touch. So why sit down at a desk in front of a PC in order to tweet on Twitter? The answer is simple, you can make it do anything you want it to do and block out anything you don't want. You select the people and organizations you want to follow and you go to one page to find short communications from newsy to newsworthy that often have links to longer pieces, blogs, or other people and events of interest. If someone starts to bore you ... stop following. Someone makes your blood pressure rise ... block them. You can follow few or many (warning too many and you will defeat the fast and friendly nature of the beast). If friends are around at the same or prearranged times you can have a real time conversation much better than instant messaging.
You quickly discover the people who can convey a thought in a sentence. Two favorites: Senator Claire McCaskill. She says her children taught her how to tweet well and it shows. Anna Marie Cox just makes you smile. It may be an illusion, but this lady appears to go through life at a breakneck speed and most of the time having a ball doing it.
Let the pundits go on about "social networking" and is it or isn't it a fad. They do like to blather on to fill time and my time is valuable, which is the real reason I tweet: All the blogs, news, politicos, and mags that I would have to visit individually to check out are all on one page, letting me know if it is worth the effort. My favorite bloggers are telling me the subject of their latest blog as well as what is going on in their day.
Two of my favorite bloggers seem to have caught the bug as well. Shelly Tucker and Jessica the Rock Chick pop up every now and then. Twitter does away with distance in much the same way that direct dial must have done for the telephone.
So check out the little blue bird at Twitter and sing out.
Let's all sing like the birdies sing,
Tweet, tweet tweet, tweet tweet.
Let's all sing like the birdies sing,
Sweet, sweet sweet, sweet sweet.
Let's all warble like nightingales,
Give your throat a treat.
Take your time from the birds,
Now you all know the words,
Tweet, tweet tweet, tweet tweet.
