i've been meaning todo a twitter post for a while now so no time like the present right? i've been using twitter now for a few months. i was reluctant at first but after reading the twitter experiment blog post by david pogue i decided to get involved and start using twitter - and i really like it. but it seems difficult to get new people to get involved, and i can see why. the first thing they always say is it's just another facebook status update and on the surface it's easy to just look at it like that, but when you actually start to use it properly you might start to like it more than facebook (as i now do). however they are difficult to compare as i have different uses for both facebook and twitter.facebook is mostly good at what it does, keeping you in contact and updated on what your friends are up to, sharing photos/videos, creating events, etc but over time it seems to be getting bloated with useless crap. i don't care about your mafia wars update. i can see why you'd join a group and become a fan of a band you like or event your interested in but i don't care if your a 'fan' of laughing or joined the group 'i need money' ... who the hell doesn't and who doesn't like laughing! it's getting ridiculous. this is somewhere twitter prevails. as soon as you read something by someone your not interested in you can just un-follow them. this instantly kills any spam. plus twitter doesn't even have adverts (how many web sites can say that these days?).
once your on twitter you should get a desktop app for it 'cause they are just better than using the web site. these allow you to get instant updates from the people you follow. you can set them up to update as often as you like and they give you a small msn style popup when new tweets are received. probably the most popular is tweetdeck. you can download it windows, mac or iphone for free via their website or the app store. one of tweetdeck's coolest features is the ability to create search columns. so if i wanted to keep up to date with say half life 2 episode 3 just create a search column and you'll receive live updates from anyone whose tweets contain 'half life 2 episode 3' - even people i don't already follow.
tweetdeck is good and has most of the features you need from a twitter client but i find it does take over my screen a bit too much for my liking so i use twhirl. it uses a smaller window and actually displays incoming tweets as they come in on the bottom right of your screen. twhirl is available for windows and mac on their web site.i should also mention tweetie which is a good app on both mac and iphone. you have to pay for the full version but you can download a free version on mac with adverts but there are loads of different twitter apps out there so just search around and use the one best suited to you.
one of the most useful features for me is just having live updates from web sites i visit regularly. basically you can use twitter as an rss feed from news/games/movie sites, anything your interested in and receive updates as soon as they go onto their web site.
then there's obviously celebrities. alot of tv and radio shows now are using twitter as a way to communicate with their audience. it's also pretty cool following people within the industry, like someone working on the effects in a film or working on a game still in production.
i mainly use it for sharing links. it's just easier to put something i want to share on twitter than individually sending everyone i know an instant message. plus on twitter it'll reach more people because twitter is open to everyone (not just people you know like on facebook).
anybody can search twitter for anything. any topic you want to see what people are talking about. if you want to see what people are saying about a certain film, or a specific web site or event you can just search and see what people are saying about it. you can also use hashtags which work in the same way. you basically put a # in front of a word which then makes it a searchable link. if you see any weird words with a # before them check out wthashtag.com - it's like a wikipedia of hashtags and will tell you what they mean.
anyway that about covers everything i wanted to say on twitter. it's not for everyone but it is for me, so i recommend you give it a go. i guarantee there will be plenty of people/web sites you'll want to follow - so if your not already, get on twitter.
