Trying Twitter

So, I’ll admit that when it comes to social networking tools, I am a fuddy-duddy. Just saying fuddy-duddy gives you an idea of how old-fashioned I am in my relationship skills. I like the part where you get to look people in the eye, shake their hands, give them a hug, read their body language. I’ve found online social networking tools to be devoid of some of the interpersonal feedback that I believe, quite frankly, separate us from the apes.

And yet, I’m now the reluctant owner of a Twitter account.

After months of hearing about its swell to fame among junior high students and college kids – I’ve built a fairly solid resistance to the concept, essentially on principle. I’ve been searching for the business use for our company and I’ve yet to find a really compelling reason to regularly twitter. Of course, like any new, bright shiny gadget, gizmo or tech toy, Twitter has captured the attention of my technology-addicted spouse. And so I have gone kicking and screaming into the abyss.

Here’s my professional and personal analysis:

What is Twitter?
Twitter is basically the online publishing tool for perpetually answering the question, “What are you doing?” at ridiculously frequent intervals. As the mother of a toddler, I’m pretty familiar with this idea of repeatedly answering the same question over and over. I’m just not sure that anyone other than a toddler would be interested in knowing exactly what I’m up to, what’s just crossed my mind, or what I just saw every other minute of the day.

Twitter is a voyeuristic, hyper-connected community, separated into categories: those you are Following or those who are Followers of you. What unites you as the Following or the Followers can be an individual (friend or colleague), a shared interest (hobby, sport, club), a location (your town, your neighborhood, your school) or an event (concert, election, conference).

Updates (e.g. responses to “What are you doing”), limited to 140 characters max, are posted by users as often as they like and made available to each group of Followers via SMS text message, email, IM and/or the website. You can make your updates private – meaning that Followers must be invited and approved by you – or public – meaning anybody with time on their hands is potentially your new friend.

How Twitter might actually be useful:

So after much deliberation and consultation with my expert staff, I think Twitter could come in handy in a few select scenarios:

• You’ve been wrongfully imprisoned in an Egyptian jail. Seriously – read this: http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/04/25/twitter.buck/
• You’re being held hostage by a bad blind date or in a boring meeting and you need a friend to “interrupt” you with a phone call
• There’s a hungry mountain lion loose in your neighborhood and you should not open your front door.
• The President is in town and the intersection at the Starbucks you’re trying to get to is completely closed off.
• You want to notify a team of people that you are going to be late to a meeting, missed your flight, won a big deal or are quitting your day job.
• You need to publish delivery room progress reports on your new baby or give surprise party attendees updates about the proximity of the guest-of-honor.
• Or any other “public service” announcement, team “e-blast” or mass instant messaging communication.

So depending on your content and your audience, this is probably not worth your small business’ time right now. With several other more effective outlets of expression at my disposal, Twitter will remain on my back burner for awhile yet. Just let them figure out how to make money at it – and I’m sure I’ll be singing a new tune.

Follow our escapades at Nextrio: http://www.twitter.com/nextrio