Now Tweeting on Twitter

There seem to be almost as many social networks as there are people on the net, but this one has gained enough traction that I figure ignoring it puts me behind the curve. Well, far be it from me to ignore the old adage that it’s easiest to ride a horse in the direction it’s already going.

For those that’ve been hiding under a rock, Twitter is like a mini-blog. It’s a stream of consciousness thing, people write short statements (it won’t take long ones) on whatever is on their mind. Like a blog, it isnt directed at specific individuals, it is seen by whoever “follows” your feed. Also like a blog, the vast majority of what you’ll see either doesnt pertain to you or is simply horse shit.

Maybe it’s a fad, maybe not, but nobody could afford to BUY the kinda publicity Twitter is getting on the news and various talk shows, and there are a lot of people utilizing it that might be worth following to see what they have to say.

Granted… I don’t fit that last part, but I can at least read what the one’s that do fit that profile have to say. Meantime, if you’re terminally bored or just addicted to reading the pithy and/or irascible nonsense with which I entertain myself (hey, it’s a gift), feel free to add me to your list. My Twitter address is:

http://twitter.com/robjones3030

Of course, for following what a few hundred of your closest friends say there’s already FaceBook, which lends itself a bit better to that purpose. [Btw, to those who bare their most intimate thoughts on FaceBook, WTF are you thinking!?]

Twitter might be a better app for following the thoughts of the truly newsworthy and such. For example, I don’t think George Stephanopolis is sitting around waiting for me to ask him to add me as a friend on FaceBook, but I can follow his posts on Twitter without imposing on his privacy.

Gotta admit the biggest draw for many Twitterers (not sure of the nomenclature, should they be called “twits”?) may be the simple fact that the Twitter dashboard doesn’t say “215 idiots are reading your blather”… it says “You have 215 followers”.

How could having “followers” not be good for morale?