Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Are you Twitter-pated?

Ah social media. So many places to tell the world what you're doing, what you're thinking, what you're eating, what you think is funny, what your issues are.....

But today, I want to talk about my beloved Twitter.

First up: what a cool word. Twitter is the perfect word for a one hundred and forty character (or less) statement of whatever idea comes to mind. "I'm twittering!" Well of course you are. Lively conversation outside the virtual world could also be called twittering , couldn't it?

There are all kinds of various types of twitter applications to use, oh the choices! Tweetdeck, Twitterific, Twitterberry, TinyTwitter, Twibble, Bigtweet, Twitterpod, Twucket, TWhirl....this list goes on forEVER. Want to post a pic with your Tweet? Use Twitpic! Want to include a URL linking an article to your tweet? Use TinyURL!

Coming from a lover of words, I ask, how can you not adore these? They're just so tweet! See, thats what I do. I even make up my own twitter words. I told a friend once that I was feeling "twucky" when she asked why I hadn't tweeted anything for a day or two. Yes, the 140 character or less statement is called a "tweet". Well, you can call it whatever you want to. But lets try to at least stay "in the know" if you're going to tweet, mmmmkay?

Twitter has definitely nailed portability with all of these available applications. I think that is half the pull, one can tweet from just about anywhere if they have the right tools to do so. Tweeting while out and about can produce all kinds of interesting things for your followers, things like "at Dallas farmers market, very crowded, tomatoes fabulous", "seeing SlumDog Millionaire today so excited", "at Mavs game, down 3 points" , etc..

Let me just select "Trending Topics" and see what everyone is twittering about right now. Michael Jackson (may he R.I.P.) MJ, Twitter Increases, Good Morning, Drake.....you can select any one of these and go to tweets that people have submitted that you aren't even "following" on Twitter. One thing I learned when entering the "twitterverse" was that the virtual world does make us all feel connected, regardless of distance in miles. But at some point those virtual connections we make have the possibility of becoming real connections. You decide just how close you want to connect with someone. But I warn you, this "connection" will happen when you least expect it, and if your intent is to just "be" in the twitterverse, be careful what you tweet regarding personal information, such as your address, telephone number, or location if you are not at home. Some people use Twitter to meet people with similar interests, others use it to promote their blogs, and yet others use it to just, well, Tweet of course! There's always the option of locking your Twitter page as well. The only people that can see your tweets if you do this are the one's you have allowed to follow you. I know there are some Twitter haters out there. That's okay, I dont judge. I do ask this though: Please, if you don't care for Twitter, just don't use it. It's that simple. I don't need a four page written essay on why Twitter is the devil of the interwebs. I will, however, have coffee with you and listen intently, utterly fascinated, about just about anything you want to talk about. Um....virtually I mean. Just sayin. I know what you're thinking, "but what about Facebook Tiffany?". Yes I know. Its there for the taking as well. And partake I do.

Sincerely,

Tiffany, a Twitter fan for sure

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