Twitter: Are You Tweeting?
As the real-time messaging service known as Twitter continues to grow in popularity, some wonder what all the fuss is about.
Founded in San Francisco in 2006 by Jack Dorsey with the idea of being able to know what his friends were doing, Twitter has become something of a social phenomenon. Everyone from celebrities to news organizations to everyday people use the free service to announce or “tweet” what they are doing at the moment, or simply what is on their mind. The rub – the message sent must be 140 characters or less.
Indeed, much of what is tweeted about can be described as babble, or worse – blatant advertising. But Twitter works across a wide variety of social networks making it easy for one to share with one’s friends what is happening at the moment. And that might be the allure of Twitter; the ability to have total information awareness of what is going on, at least as much as others are willing to share.
It is fun of course to share your joys, laughs, triumphs (and perhaps even tragedies, for those angling for sympathy or attention) but sometimes people offer too much information or useless information altogether. What’s even more interesting is that according to a study by a Harvard Business School professor, 10% of Twitter users account for 90% of its tweets, meaning one of 2 things: Most people are awfully shy (or lazy) when it comes to tweeting, or what is more likely is that Twitter accounts are created and then quickly abandoned.
Is Twitter then simply a passing fad? It’s not likely. There are millions who make use of the free service every day, with Twitter.com becoming one of the most popular online destinations for social marketing. Loyal users would swear that it’s an invaluable tool for staying in touch and up to date on the life’s of friends and family, and vice versa.
