There is something fascinating about Twitter. Like most people, when it came out I though it was a waste of time. Why alert others to mundane activities without a filter. Who care that you are at lunch? Seriously, not even my mother should care. But then I figured it out (and I am still figuring it out). The value is not in the message, but in the distribution of a message that, when aggregated, provides an incredible record of what you are doing, who you are and what you value. Google figured this out long ago, which is part of their success. Educators should also tap into this power to share knowledge. Sure, the incremental stuff is dull and tedious but the aggregate is game changing over a year and more than that in ten years. Information is the coin of the next generation, and that is exactly what Twitter distributes easily and free.
“What are you doing?” is the question Twitter asks “Twitterers” to answer in a simple text message as they connect with friends, co-workers or the wider world. Twitterers “tweet” about everything from what they had for lunch to how much they enjoyed their latest Netflix DVD. If that sounds silly and incredibly narrow at first, don’t worry, you’re not alone.
“When people hear about Twitter, their immediate reaction is that it’s the simplest and stupidest idea in the world,” says co-founder Biz Stone.
Twitter took off from simple to ‘tweet’ success – USATODAY.com
