Twitter

I can't remember how I actually began using twitter or even WHEN I began using it, but I liked the idea of becoming more involved on social networking sites so I jumped right in. I was surprised at first about how many responses I could get by just posting a question (e.g. posting "what's the best photo printing site?" would result in at least five genuine answers). And then there was this whole "you can only speak in 140 characters" thing. No wonder I couldn't explain Twitter without sounding like the website was a complete waste of time. Twitter will always be that site that people have trouble wrapping their head around though. I'll just take a stab at trying to explain...

The uses for Twitter:

1. Remember what you had for breakfast/snack/lunch/snack/dinner that day- maybe these people are trying to be more aware of what they are putting in their mouths.

2. State what they were able to accomplish at the gym- ah the people who need a self-esteem boost. I'll give it to them though; I think anyone who goes to the gym deserves some recognition. As for those marathoners on Twitter, tweeting about how they just ran 20 miles...well, I would tweet that too.

3. Used as a marketing tool- this has been one use that has completely taken off since Twitter's "birth." Even though I get annoyed at NBC4 taking over my livefeed, I do find it helpful having up-to-date news at the click of a button. As for companies that have a product to sell, if you can get the public to click on your link to seek more information about your new product, all power to you. Luckily on twitter you have the option of not following organizations that constantly try to push things in your face.

I was at work the other day, and they were talking about hash tags used on Twitter. For an event coming up on Friday and Saturday they planned on developing a hash tag that everyone could use while they were tweeting on their iphones from the event. These are the types of ideas that mesmerize me. To have a group come together through a website is something you would never have heard of before. Plus, it allows you to document events and memories in ways never before been possible.

4. You can't forget about the stalkers...always nice to have another outlet for them to reach out to their obsession.

5. Twitter is also important for the youtubers/dailyboothers/tumblrs- you must let your followers know you updated on every outlet possible.

6. Celebrities- "They're just like us..."

7. And then there are people like me, the college student (aka: the "gap" on Twitter). At this point I mostly use Twitter to stretch my mind and and attempt at being creative. I often times find myself starting at the "What are you doing?" screen, trying to figure out what genius thing I could say in 140 words. Although this rarely happens (once in ever 100 tweets), I do enjoy getting on Twitter, updating, and spending time catching up on what is going on with the people I am following.

I love to follow people I have interacted with on other social media sites. It's nice to follow people on Twitter that you already know something about. Then, when you see their daily tweets, you see a glimpse into their lives. Other than those people, I'm guilty of enjoying following a few celebrities. Call it my guilty pleasure, but I can't help to find interesting what African tribe Selena Gomez is helping out that week. And then there is Ellen DeGeneres- love her! Hilarious woman. Any hilarious tweeters who update semi-regularly are going to be followed...by ME!

So while Twitter takes on the face of what ever party is utilizing it's services, it will always be an outlet for the common Joe, for the small business owner, for the celebrity, for the made up Disney character and for the large corporation taking over mankind. What ever Twitter is, I like it.