I had a great conversation with D to the Silvuh last weekend that helped me crystallize what I think about Twitter. Folks seem a bit caught up, I get the impression, in debating whether it sucks or rules. I see it a bit differently.
Twitter is a low-effort, ephemeral, low-nuance, portable social channel. It's good for certain things and not for others.
Kathy Sierra makes some interesting points about the danger of Twitter "tricking our brains" into thinking we're experiencing real social connection. Ok, yeah, well... sorta. I mean, are you REALLY going to think you're having a rich experience of connection as you fuss with the little buttons on your cell phone? Honestly.
As a matter of fact, I really like the mobile experience I get sending photos and video from our cell phones back and forth with my wife during the work day. I see our kids frolicking, and the family sees... another picture of a conference room, an airport terminal, my uh... computer. But the truth is they like it, and I like seeing snippets of gymnastics class, the park, the zoo. We are connected meaningfully through the day in a way we wouldn't be otherwise. And unlike texting a Twitter message, it takes about four button-pushes.
I'm not saying cell-to-cell sharing is a substitute for being together, but it's better than 40 hours a week of nothing--a lot better.
So, there's a real place for Twitter as a sustainer of social connections over distance. It can connect us at times we wouldn't be connected otherwise. It's no substitute for phone calls, and you know, REAL time together, but as the first real cross-device, portable, Web-based, real-time, downright cool communication service, it's worthy.
We're also seeing a rewarding application of Twitter as a "micro-blog" service recording experiences at events. The response to Twitter's coming-out party at SXSW this year made pretty clear there's something valuable in the group stream of consciousness when it's focused in time. I plan to Twitter my week at Web 2.0 between the 16th and 18th of this month--you can follow me here and via the Twitter badge in my sidebar.
I recently recommended incorporating a Twitter widget in an event-focused site for a major consumer brand that sponsors a fan-centric trade show with sporting events, gear unveilings, celebrity appearances, etc. Folks turn out in droves for this event, and it's broadcast on cable. Fans who can't attend follow along on TV. Twitter, along with a number of other services, has the potential to enrich the event experience for people who are there and also people who wish they were there.
Event attendees can join the Titter stream and collectively produce a real-time narrative of the event. Attendees can tap into it and see what's going on elsewhere in the sprawling event, and fans elsewhere can get a taste of the action live, in the voices of their peers.
This is the second thing I think Twitter is good for: Time-dimensioned stream of consciousness experiences, especially around structured events.
So yes, Twitter shouldn't be mistaken for the killer social Web app. Yes, it enforces triviality, to some extent. But don't hate it. See it as another tool in your social web toolbox, and use it when it makes sense. You can't easily drill a hole with a hammer, but when you need to pound in a nail, it's just the thing.
Here's one place where Twitter works and does so in fine form: http://www.misterpresident.org. I can't say it's a "sticky" site, but the allure and entertainment value is up there.
Posted by: Justin | April 23, 2007 at 08:38 AM