The TeleInterActive Lifestyle

According to my profile on Twitter, I signed up 29 days ago, during which time I made 188 tweets. As I wrote a few weeks ago, I had my doubts about Twitter, but decided to try it based on others I know saying that it proved its value after a few weeks.

Twitter is described as micro-blogging, but I feel that does Twitter, and the concept, a disservice. Blogging is often said to be a conversation, but I've never found it to be so. As I've stated before, to me, blogging is like speaking from a podium. Turning on comments is akin to taking questions from the audience. Using trackbacks and pingbacks akin to a panel discussion. Twitter is much closer to being a true conversation. I find it to be like a cocktail party. Conversations are all around you, streaming past. As you find topics interesting, you might listen, or join in. Like a cocktail party, you might continue conversations with old friends, or even acquaintances that you only see at similar events. You might meet new people, and make new friends. You might find business contacts, kindred spirits, people of like interests or personality. It's a giant, asynchronous cocktail party, with thousands of participants.

The past month has been a rough one for Twitter. It's original architecture wasn't created for what it has become. The implementation of that architecture has shown many flaws. It's often down, in toto, or with some of its most useful features disabled to keep the basics going. But even with all that, I've found Twitter to be useful.

I've found other twits tweeting on Twitter, and have been entertained. I've made new business contacts, extending my LinkedIN network thereby. I've been pointed to news events, technical happenings, venture undertakings, and information that is of professional and personal interest. And I've heard it on Twitter first, so that when I read it in the news or in a blog, sometimes days later, I would smile and think "I know that".

Update: One of the folk with whom I now have a tweeting relationship is @tawnypress. Since she's also relatively new to Twitter and has blogged about her experience, I thought I would trackback to her "Twitter - Two Months & Counting" post.

So, yes, after a month and with only a couple of dozen followers while I follow less than an hundred, I find Twitter to be useful. I most like using it through Hahlo3 on my iPhone; Hahlo3 is an iPhone specific interface to both Twitter and Summize (a service that searches Twitter by hashtags, people or location). There have been problems, and some frustrations, but it's a cocktail party. No reason to get upset if the bar is crowded or the buffet table empty. You'll get your drink by-and-by, and someone will refill the trough soon.

Twitter can fail if it doesn't overcome it's architectural and scaling issues. I hope not. I like it. I would like to see it succeed, expand, and become a part of my daily communications.

Join in. You'll like it.