oh my blog: twitter

Flower: [about two birds fluttering around] Well! What's the matter with them?
Thumper: Why are they acting that way?
Friend Owl: Why? Don't you know? They're twitterpated.
Flower, Bambi, Thumper: Twitterpated?
Friend Owl: Yes. Nearly everyone gets twitterpated in the springtime... -Bambi 

 

pinkrickshaw still cannot escape twitter-mania
about 2 minutes ago from web
pinkrickshaw cannot escape twitter-mania
about 1 hour ago from web

There seems to be two types of people these days. Those who Twitter and those who don't get what all the hype is about the micro-blogging and social networking site. Hype is probably an understatement for the intense coverage the site has received along with its massive popularity. The Guardian in London ran a story this April Fool's Day saying that after 188 years as a print publication, it will become the first news publication to deliver news via Twitter. Charles Lindhbergh's 1927 flight to Paris from New York would have been condensed to "OMG first successful transatlantic air flight wow, pretty cool! Boring day otherwise...sigh!" At Fashion Week, fashionistas all over the world got their updates via 140 character or less tweets on their phones. Members of Congress love tweeting when Obama speaks. And on a serious note Demi Moore (aka Mrs. Kutcher for those that follow her) even saved a woman from suicide and the terror attacks in Mumbai were captured in real time via Twitter. 
Greatest thing since..well...Facebook. Six reasons we have fed into the Twitter hype:

1) Old people don't get it. 
Twitter has become like the Pepsi of social networking. As Time magazine recently said, Facebook Is for Old People. If you've gotten to the end of Facebook and your parents added you as your friends, it may be time to tweet.

2)  MC Hammer lectures about it at Harvard Business School.
Enough said.

3) It has its own vocabulary
mistweet (noun) a mistake tweet, posted the way it was not intended to be
dweet (noun) a drunken tweet 
twitterati (noun) the tweet elite (typically celebrities) whose feeds attract thousands of followers
(I must add that in addition to its own lingo, Twitter has inspired countless witty t-shirts. Case and point: the lovely young man I spotted at Starbucks wearing his "That's what she twittered" shirt.)

4) There is no way to escape it
Every major media outlet in one way shape or form is covering a story about Twitter. The constant coverage from the Wall Street Journal to the Today Show all scream, yes, Twitter is very popular.

5) Ashton, John and Britney are doing it
Actually Britney beats out Ashton, John Mayer and President Obama as having the most followers. Shocking, but she's got some great tweets, ya'll. As a warning though, following some celebrities on Twitter can be interesting; others not so much. Ashton and Mrs. Kutcher will fill up your entire page with their tweets which are pretty blah. But I do have to admit, seeing who other celebrities follow and their tweets to each other, does give insight into the glitzy bunch. But also beware. While most of the celeb twitter sites are real, there are a few fake ones such as Tina Fey's twitter page which has been speculated to be a fraud.
Intrigued? The New York Times even put together an elaborate map of the celebrity twitter ecosystem.

6) It is the ultimate in self-promotion
Wanna share a link? Promote your business? Shamelessly plug your website? Twitter can reach thousands of people in what has become a new form of marketing. It's not just about what Sally ate for breakfast anymore. So, follow Pink Rickshaw on Twitter. Shameless plug, why not? I promise not to dweet.

image source: psychiatrist-blog.blogspot.com, twitter.com

-SD

Comments

[Mon]

Yeah I saw the Demi bit on E news! Can't believe she's on it!

[amee]

I'm so glad you blogged about Twitter...but i would like to see you dweet for sure...