What is this twitter?

[Rudyard]

So twitter seems to be the newest fad that hasnt appealed to me (like facebook and myspace) but the rest of the world is talking about.

Can someone clarify, in a nutshell, is twitter simply a blog that when updated gets sent to you?

So the only special thing about it is a subscription type thing to someones twitter (blog) so it automatically gets sent to you, kind of like subscribing to a podcast?

Please enlighten me in laymens terms!

[guns1inger]

It is like a blog, but restricted to SMS sized chunks. It seems to be the next evolution in communication for the vacuous (see Ashton Kutcher, Oprah etc) and those with short attention spans. You go for a coffee - you tweet about it and others might join you. You go the toilet - you tweet about it and someone might come and wipe you. If you must knwo the complete ins and outs of your favourite celebrities life, then perhaps twitter is for you (assuming your favourite celeb tweets, of course). If you have a life in the real world, you probably don't really need twitter (or facebook, or myspace).

[lordsmurf]

Twittering is people writing 1-sentence emails, which are publically posted, as if anybody actually gives a shit. A perfect piece of tech for attention-whoring teenager girls.

"I just saw the cutest ________ and need to get one!"
"Today was so busy, I had to do _____ and _______ and (whine, whine, whine)."

I hold more important conversations with food servers, people on street corners, and the lady at the gas station.

Aside from that guy who twittered about being thrown in jail in a foreign country (and it helped him get released), I've yet to hear any useful function of twitter. People who say otherwise are kidding themselves.

[Dv8ted2]

It is a breeding ground for worms that give your computers spyware protect 2009 and flood people's mailboxes. It has been infected fiev times over the last week, as inspired by Mickeyy.

[Noahtuck]

Twittering is people writing 1-sentence emails, which are publically posted, as if anybody actually gives a shit. A perfect piece of tech for attention-whoring teenager girls

Yeah someone who knows me personally said they saw me on some twitter crap about a month or so ago, and i was like, WTF is twitter

I have heard the name on TV & the news but i never cared enough to even remember it longer then 30 seconds let alone look it up on the net.

Needless to say they never did produce a link or anything to show me.

[lordsmurf]

Some people have started to think Twitter is viable technology for marketing. I say bullshit. Here is one recent stupid column on the subject: http://www.networkworld.com/columnists/2009/040609-gearhead.html -- the only purpose here is to try an monitor consumer thoughts in an environment that is highly misleading.

The "CEO" in this article needs to be put in his or her place (i.e., YOU DO NOT KNOW ALL ABOUT TECH -- or MARKETING OR PR, FOR THAT MATTER!), not coddled/surrounded with yes-men. Micromanaging CEOs are a huge pain in the ass, they always tank their organizations.

Seeing Congress Twitter during Obama's speech makes me want to vomit. Pay attention, fuckheads!

[Rudyard]

THanks for the replies, so it sounds even less useful than I thought. Good to know im not missing anything!

[guns1inger]

If you find twitter requires too much attention, try Flutter instead

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeLZCy-_m3s