Twitter thoughts

I’ve used Twitter for a few weeks now. While I am still far from being a zealot, I have found more value in the service than I initially perceived. As I noted in a previous post, it can be a good way to tap into the collective mind. Assuming of course that the folks you are twittering with have them. Minds 🙂 Of course, everyone on my Twitter friends list is brilliant.

 I’ve also subscribed to a few Twitter news feeds (BBC, Techmeme), and find that this is a useful way of getting the news headlines, not unlike the old ticker.

What I find most disconcerting is also the thing that I find both the most interesting, and ultimately what (IMO) makes Twitter useful as a social network.

It is this: Following the thread of the conversation is not always easy.

And I don’t mean because sometimes (often?) it is mundane stuff like what people ate for breakfast and where they are driving or what animal they’ve changed their Twitter icon to.

Apart from the short form, text-message like nature of Twitter, the other thing that distinguishes Twitter from other social networks I have been a part of is that  all Twitter-ers aren’t part of the same group. Those of you that use Twitter already know what I mean. For those that don’t, I’ll try to explain.

Basically, I have a group of Twitter friends whose messages I follow. That’s my reference group, and I see all their public Twitters. But many of my friends have different friends than I do; they are part of other, different groups. Yet, if my friend posts a public Twitter in response to something that I haven’t seen because the original poster is not on my list, I will see it.

Let me make it more concrete. Sam is my friend. Sally is my friend. But Sam and Sally do not know each other. At least on Twitter. Sam posts something erudite and brilliant in his 140 characters. I respond with a public Twitter. All my friends see it, including Sally. But Sally has NO IDEA what I am responding to. That’s the disconcerting part.

But Twitter lets her follow the trail of my friends to see that it was Sam who said the initial brilliant thing. At that point, she can decide if she’d like to add Sam to her Twitter friends.

And that is the interesting part of all this Twittering — how it lets us expand our social networks exponentially. I’ve "met" some folks on Twitter that I might not have otherwise.

So, count me in the column of folks who appreciate the social networking value of Twitter. I will continue to post occasionally and follow the conversation as best I can.

But… I still don’t know how much value it has a business tool, and whether the value outweighs the potential or perceived productivity issues. I worked in the Internet and spam filtering industry for 10 years, and I’ll bet that the web filters will block Twitter, if they haven’t already. Even if there is long-term business value, the perception of time sink will drive many businesses to prohibit at-work Twittering. They won’t wait for things to shake out and a broader value to surface. And please don’t shoot the messenger if I’m the first person who has brought this up. Right or wrong is not relevant; it’s just what’s bound to happen.

This week, I joined the Ning PR group started by Tom Murphy. Report in a few weeks as I explore the world of Ning.

Tags: Twitter, Ning, social network