Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Techology and Twitter

I kept putting off Thing #10 (Technology blogging) because I couldn't decide WHAT I wanted to write about. I read quite a few technology blogs, so it was hard to narrow it down. In the end, I decided to use this Thing to explore a web 2.0 tool that I have never used, but was always curious about: Twitter.

Twitter is often called "micro-blogging", because your posts are limited to 140 characters. You can update from the web or send text messages to Twitter from your cell phone. So why would you even want to use Twitter? That's sort of what I want to find out. I've only posted a few things so far. I like that the question on the homepage is "What are you doing?" People use Twitter to write short posts about anything - observations, just an update on what they're doing, any sort of tidbit. I have seen people put Twitter in the sidebar of their blog as a way of having short little updates, maybe if the big posts aren't so frequent. I put a link to my tweets in my sidebar here, just for fun. (My Twitter page is http://www.twitter.com/elizabetht).

Granted, some people write their everyday blogs in such short format that it would negate Twitter. However, what makes Twitter 2.0, and what I am still trying to figure out, is the web-like nature of Twitter. Other Twitter users can follow you, and consequently, you can see updates from all of the people YOU are following on your homepage when you log in. What can emerge are conversations. If someone sees your post, they can respond directly, so it becomes very interactive and web 2.0. I have heard stories of librarians who ask advice from other librarians using Twitter, and who get many responses in the blink of an eye.

Of course, I haven't exactly HAD any of these super web 2.0 Twitter conversations quite yet (having only one friend would do that!) but I'm enjoying having a place to keep all of my dumb little observations. So tell me, are you on Twitter?

1 comment:

sebastian said...

This is a comment on the whole Web2.0 more than Twitter. When reading articles about Web2.0 and Mr. O'Reilly I had the feeling that he sees the world through a different CRT than I do...than most people do. He and his CABAL are more than enthusiastic about the 2.0 thing. They and a small percentage of the world's population see this new use of the Web as a means of sweeping cultural change, I see it as primarily for techies. The idea of people using this for an exchange of ideas, means of communication etc. is great but I really think that most people won't. As for Twitter it seems a bit redundant.
LM