You can't trust anything you hear from anyone anytime anymore (this sentence contains a lie).

No one can manage to follow 20K people however if you follow only those who you perceive as interesting and unfollow those who announce every trip to the bathroom or lie in their posts than it is a pretty usefull tool. I've seen some serious discussions happen there. As with many Web 2.0 apps be selective, exploit the benefit and get rid of anything annoying.

I think Guy is right. If you can't manage your RSS feed, trim it down. If you don't like stupid tweets, don't follow those who post them. The argument that Twitter has too many people posting irrelevant details...don't follow those people! I love Twitter and think it's an outstanding resource for me as a tech educator. I get to connect with people around me and have mini conversations that normally wouldn't take place.

that is all I use it for, I follow(followed) a few friends and people from work and we can tell where we are during the day and what we are doing...comes in handy

I sent something about "arriving at client #2" and I got a phone call a minute or so later "You didn't go to so and so did you? I already went there"

Saved a bit of awkwardness with the client. :)

Twitter is a gimmicky toy.

It is for losers whose lives are empty.
The exact same mentality was and is popular with some cell phone users. They actually interrupt the life they are living in person to talk to someone who isn't physically there. I and freidns have sent such clowns on their way... their rudeness is sufficient reason.

Twitter is a good indicator you are dealing with a twit who is desperately pretending their life is so interesting that the rest of the world requires constant updates.

If I ran Twitter I would have collected a perfect mailing list of fools who can be gulled into buying anything if it tweaks the ego of the mark who is targeted for con artistry.

Too bad the eager Twitter users don't clue in to the fact they have outted themselves as twits.

I think the irony of twits outting themselves by their use of a "service" called "twitter" is too funny for words.

It is funny as hell to watch the gullible try to defend their gullibility as either "kewl" or wise.

Caroline is absolutely spot on. Some of the other comments are really funny...

Twitter "proved" he'd done something? How exactly?

"Mini conversations" ??? Why don't you actually try talking to someone. Its actually far more productive.

"Only follow those you perceive as interesting" ??? You might as well be watching a soap.

Some of the folks who sometimes post very interesting things that I would *like* to follow also post some of the most inane drivel, so I un-follow them. If they could just learn to tone it down and post only interesting or pointed things then I'd love to follow them.

Jim,
Maybe your feelings about twitter are an indication that you are maturing? Seems to me Twitter is finding it's position as a teen, 'tween and possibly young adult thing. I can't imagine people with adult family and professional lives getting into it - except maybe on vacation or if it means they can track their children better.

I can't imagine anyone opening up themselves wide-open for all kinds of personal security threats for which the Twitter service very obviously can.

Got a stalker? Sure, help them stalk you all that much easier.

You're not at home, on the other side of town? The burglar is very happy to know this.

Made some enemies, pissed-off some road-rage maniac? Anywhere can now be a grassy knoll.

What a convenient way to establish a criminal frame-up, to know exactly where a target is located at all times of the day.

In this age of tech savvy identity thieves and criminals, why is anyone voluntarily making the cretins' jobs so much easier?

+1 to Caroline (I wonder what she's doing now?)

I think Twitter has its uses and a place in the social media realm. It is powerful and can reach many people quickly.

I just started using Twitter and it has connected me with different resources and people that I wouldn't have know about otherwise.

The problem is there are too many different places to post a status about anything - Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, on and on. Now fun becomes a chore.

This social media wave is in continuous evolution, so all we can do is experiment with what's there, decide what we like, find where our people are, and work it that way.

As with any information-driven resource, take everything with a grain of salt, read what you like, discard the rest. Lies and all.

Caroline is right, not just about Twitter users, but about this whole "Web 2.0" thing altogether. I don't care to know what people are doing every instant of the day, and I don't care for anyone to know that about me, either. I had a website for a while, but it was just too much of a problem to update regularly. Face book is the most inane, useless piece of web junk I've ever seen! WHY, people, WHY do you want to hang yourself out for everyone to see like that? If you have friends, they already know you. If you want to make new friends, why not attend a public function and talk to people face to face? Go to church and meet people. Talk to a real person in a restaurant or bar, instead of jabbering on your cell phone. Sure, it's easy to talk about personal stuff with a person that you'll probably never meet in person, but what is the value in that? Come on, folks, to quote William Shatner on SNL, "GET A LIFE!"

Pushing the fiction point: Make a feed for a continuing story. Never post outside the narrative. Could be an amusing writing exercise.

I think the power of Twitter is generally lost on most people. I don't use it to know what people are doing, or to tell people what I'm doing. That's not its purpose. Sure, Twitter can be incredibly useful for instant updates on big news stories. (Often I hear breaking stories on Twitter before I check CNN.) However, Twitter's usefulness comes from its ability to connect people and expand one's professional/personal network QUICKLY in a way that most cannot do face-to-face. For example, I have chatted with CEOs of major companies, I'm on a first-name basis with multiple technology analysts, and world-renowned bloggers know I love ice cream.

I am only 3 months out of college, and I'm sure my professional network is bigger than 95% of other people in my career stage, thanks to Twitter.

Ah... it's fun to watch the people who just don't get Twitter. If you don't like the occasional annoyance of social media, you are going to like being irrelevant a lot less. "Turn down that music... damn kids with your rock and roll!" The train is leaving the station, get on board or get left behind. But hey, lots of folks are more comforatable staying where they are.

Kevin, it's funny you mention that. Ever since I came up with the faketweet idea I've been thinking about doing a novel (or maybe more realistically novella) using twitter. The post and the character limit would be an interesting challenge.

Too late! My friend Othurme has been lying on Twitter with fake tweets for MONTHS! Muahahaha! It's the funniest thing EVER!.

just another mindless piece of tech trash for a bunch of mindless twits. If we had a penny for each piece of tech that comes out and a nickel for each idiot savant that defends them to their dying days - well, we might not even have a national debt to worry about!

anything that reduces the amount of actual critical thinking that needs to go on is fine by the hip/now generation who defends these silly trinket toys as the latest/greatest. Whatever...facebook/twitter, this and that...all garbage that you can wash down the grinder.

Don't get me wrong - some of those folks who come up with this stuff have the best intentions and actually make out damn well from them too - but it the general population and especially those morons who defend these dime-store charms as the best thing since sliced bread that I really don't like. But what the hell, waste your own vapid time - u won't get it back...

Thank you Caroline and Larry and others. You have
quickly restored my faith that indicates some
people are self aware and know what communications
work by delivering the important qualities of
communicating in person, such as the non-verbal
componant which in many cases are required to
properly address the high points. I believe the
key to using any technology is first understanding
why you want it? How will it benefit your
character. How will it benefit your friends? Do a
simple SWOT... What are the Strengths, Weaknesses,
Opportunities, and Threats. I've been fortunate to
work in cutting-edge technologies for nearly 40
years and yes I've seen people get cut. As a
Senior Systems Engineer designing high-tech
systems, the primary componants are the people.
When new technologies are invented, one must be
aware that "Just because it can be done doesn't
mean it should be done." Step outside the box and
take a good look. JR

Interesting debate. I'm interested in the Web 2.0 technologies and see the goods and bads. Part of my job is to explore the emerging technologies and how they might be used in the workplace. At first I thought Twitter was a bunch of hooey. Who cares what everyone is doing at any moment of the day? Similar to all the buzz about texting, I just couldn't see what the fuss was about. (I still don't know how those frequent texters are able to be so nimble with the tiny keyboards! However,in IT we need a way to let people know quickly about outages. We're exploring the use of Twitter for that and it actually is kind of cool!

I also have found that Facebook can be a great way to network! While I have no interest in karma points or some of the other "goodies" that quickly feel like spam, I have met people with common interests from all over the world. When meeting people face-to-face, you're not able to quickly determine the network that THAT person has available that may one day help you get your next job.

We cannot forget the value of "real life" and "real friends", but there absolutely is value in the new tools that are available to us free of charge. Capitalize on the good and ignore the bad.

Has someone studied Twitter use by:
- Age ranges of users
- Frequency of posts by day
- Semantic context of messages
- Send to receive ratios

When Nancy Pelosi turned off the microphones, switched off the lights and shut off the C-Span cameras while the Republican Congress continued to hammer home the benefits of environmentally strict offshore drilling, oil shale technology, nuclear power, coal and natural gas while the Democrats went on vacation for 5 weeks and Pelosi went on a failed book tour, Twitter and Apple iPhone videos uploaded to Qik suddenly became the reigning tools of free speech and information proliferation on Capitol Hill. Who knew? Who knew the "jurassically low-tech" Republicans who've remained on staycation in Washington for the past 2 weeks continuing to have virtual debates with absent Democrats would suddenly find themselves on the forefront of a major movement using the Twitter hash #dontgo which has been capturing every real time moment of the House Protest to hundreds of followers which, in turn, were picked up by thousands of blogs and talk radio which are, in turn, picked up by millions of consumers of alternative media and eventually by the mainstream news cycle?

As a result of Web 2.0 and a few plugged-in GenX Republican Congressmen such as John Culberson, Eric Cantor, John Boehner, and Pete Hoekstra, these services have found an exciting new place in democracy, free speech and political activism. Very suddenly, in the last 2 weeks, the Liberal dominance of technology has tilted Right. Very suddenly, in the last 2 weeks since the House Protest brought attention to the fact that 80% of Americans are for offshore drilling in addition to all the other alternative and renewable fuel options, gas prices have dropped. Did the alternative media's proliferation of the debate over America's willingness to drill influence the price of oil along with several other complex root causes such as China's drop in consumption during the Olympics? Tweets may lie, but the Apple videos do not, and they all support each other beautifully. The other grassroots activism social media service where tweets are auto-fed and the videos are proliferating is Facebook. If the Republicans win any of their seats back in November, and if McCain is able to prevail in an election that the Democrats "just cannot lose", these services will have made a major contribution to those victories. None of the mainstream media services covered the House Protest live. But when MoveOn.org members felt so threatened by the overarching web presence of #dontgo that they showed up to protest the House Republicans, it was obvious that the days of Mainstream Media and direct mailing are *so* over. Ben Franklin, who I always like to think of as the Father of American Bloggers, would have loved this.

Hey Rebecca, you've instantly identified yourself as someone with not enough to do.

I've been told this before - "The earthquake in Mexico City was on Twitter a full 90 minutes before it was on CNN!!!"

I can't get through my email each day - and that is stuff sent specifically to me, with the expectation I do something about it. And not before.

I'll care about the earthquake in Mexico City when it shows up in my inbasket, and someone expects me to do something about it.

I also don't watch CNN, nor own an iPod, and my TV isn't tube (sorry Jim) but it's not much better.

Oh, and my job? Explaining how to implement Web 2.0 and other "bleeding edge technologies" to tech-heads...

While there are certainly benefits (ie., instant broadcast of information), and valid applications (disaster, missing children and crisis alerts, outages, etc.) twitter has become another vehicle subject to the abuse of useless news and updates as people try to learn and adopt this new communication medium. The question then becomes, as Jimbo eloquently stated in his comment to this post, "Just because it can be done doesn't mean it should be done." Or, just because one can, doesn't mean one should. Think twice about the newsworthiness before you send that tweet!