In general terms, I would describe Twitter as a….
Stream of Thought Microblogging
… tool.
It allows you (or anyone) to post little one-liner messages (up to 140 characters)… and for others (anyone, and as many as want to) to receive them…. any way they want to… via SMS text message on their cellphone, being the most popular way… or via email, or web site, or in any of a dozen other ways…. all for absolutely FREE.
As with any new technology….
It can be fun… interesting… amusing… maybe even mildly entertaining…
But, in the end, everyone always ends up asking themselves,
“Yeah…. But what practical use could I possibly put it to?”
The reality is….
The Collective Consciousness of Humanity will figure out its Highest and Best Uses
Twitter — when you describe it to people — sounds like a high-tech toy….
Something for teenagers who have more time on their hands, than sense… A sort of mobile chat room for people who are bored out of their minds…. to assist them in boring other people out of their minds too…
HOWEVER….
Upon closer inspection by the masses… and the Collective Consciousness….
Thousands of new uses are developing for it…. DAILY!
The massive earthquake in Mexico City was reported on Twitter a full 8 minutes BEFORE any news agency in the world got the story…
Kevin Rose, the host of the most popular internet television show in the world, Diggnation, now has 65,527 people “following” him on Twitter… at this very moment. Wait. Let me check again…. No, now it’s 65,529 people. The point is: Every time Kevin Rose has a thought, he “tweets” about it…. and….
65,529 people on the planet get Kevin’s thought instantly — as soon as he thinks it.
Whether it comes in as a text message on their cellphone, in their email, or on the web site…. That’s a LOT of people.
In other words, famous people (and companies) are using it as a Broadcasting Tool.
And that’s only the beginning…
There are now search tools…. allowing you to search the Twitter Public Timeline (all tweets are public, by the way)…
This means that, if Jason and deMarco want to know what “people are saying about them”… They can simply use a tool to search for and find EVERY tweet containing the phrase, “Jason and deMarco”….
Hmmm…. Think about THAT for a second.
You can get — ANYONE can get — an instantaneous “finger on the pulse” of “what people are thinking and saying about”……… you name it!
THAT is powerful information.
With tools like…
twittervision.com
twittermap.com/maps
twittersearch.com/search
tweetbeep.com
google.com/alerts
flickrvision.com
spinvision.tv
kiva.org/kivavision
.. and dozens and dozens of other such tools…. the list goes on.
With these new technologies, used in all sorts of combinations… the possibilities are limited only to…
The Imagination of the Collective Consciousness of Humanity
wow!
What uses does twitter have BEYOND the obvious…?
I invite you to…. Really think it through….
What will YOU use it for?
