Just Duke - Mostly Tech Ponderings

Many of my friends just don't get Twitter. They're largely Facebookers and just can't understand why anyone could live within the 140 character boundary, and consider it a platform for self centered Technogeeks, or for half crazy, self absorbed Hollywood idiots. As someone who got into Twitter shortly after it launched, I've used it for a good while now. I continue to find more and more uses for the platform. So I figured that sharing those here might help someone better understand Twitter's appeal. Below are some examples of how I and others use Twitter daily.

This one should be obvious for most people. But it's really nice to be able to follow your buddies in real time, and interact with them.  It's non-intrusive, but it's still a very effective way to communicate. It's a great way to stay in touch with the people who matter to you, no matter where you live or work. 

Stalk your Favorite Star

My wife never tweets! But she has this thing for Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty. Through Twitter, She gets to follow him through his day. His posts, his pictures, etc. Since she is such a fan, this gives her little tid-bits of information about someone she really enjoys as a musician and a person. On the other hand, I get a kick out of "Dog the Bounty Hunter". I have created a list to where I can follow Dog, Beth, Leland, BabyLyssa and Dwayne.

Search 

This is by far the most useful feature of Twitter. And you don't even have to have a Twitter account to take advantage of it. If you are interested in something, there is a very good chance, that you are not alone! And someone is more than likely tweeting about it. Want to know who got voted off American Idol? Maybe there is a news story that you are watching on TV about Libya and you want to know what the people there are saying right now! You are watching your favorite football team, and there was a questionable call. You know what you think but what do others think? A quick Twitter search will tell you. I also like to search locally to get information such as traffic, weather issues, local events, etc. 

Monitoring 

I bought a Google TV Box. While I use it often (listening to an Engadget podcast on it now) I am expecting more from it. Monitoring a Google TV Twitter stream will give me updates and information specific to this device. Like to Cook? Then monitoring the Tweets of someone like say, the Food Network is probably going to give you all kinds of ideas. Obama just made a speech about drilling for oil? What do conservatives think about it? By Monitoring groups such as TCOT (Talk Conservative on Twitter) you can quickly learn their thoughts. 

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Breaking News

When something happens in the world, I usually learn about it through Twitter first. Not because I'm necessarily on Twitter, but because that seems to be where it starts. Remember when Captain Scully landed his plane on the Hudson? The Networks all learned about it through Twitter. Eyewitnesses on the scene started tweeting it, and the News Networks following Twitter started putting up the photos that people were tweeting from their smartphones.

@cnnbrk has well over four million followers. So just following them, usually will let you know what is going down in the world as soon as it starts going down. 

The ability to get answers

If you need to know something, a great way to find out is to ask your followers. Find yourself in a new place and need to know a place to grab lunch? Ask Twitter something like, "anyone know a good place to grab lunch in northern #Atlanta?" Or say you got tied up and missed the big game. "Can anyone give me the final score of the #Vols/#Tide game?

If you don't have a lot of followers, you can still get answers by using hashtags. For example, I am interested in the #Android OS. I follow #Android on Twitter. Anytime someone uses the word #android, it appears in my stream. You can use this to reach a broader, yet more focused to your issue group if you use these hashtags appropriately

Asking my Followers questions is something that I do quite frequently.

To compile this article, I asked:

Below are two replies:

Other Uses

•  Ready for a new job? Try searching #jobs in twitter. Or better yet, head over to tweetmyjobs, enter your criteria, and when something comes up, you will be sent a tweet telling you about it. 
• If you use Evernote, you can send a Tweet as a note.
• Set up a private twitter account and send your thoughts there as a journal, to refer back to later.
•  Got a last minute change of plans? If your event is advertised through Twitter, you can communicate the change faster than email.

And on and on . . . 

When Twitter launched, it's tag line was "What are you doing?". Although that certainly still applies, many make the mistake of thinking, that's all it does. "Who wants to follow someone talking about what they had for lunch?" Twitter isn't really about who you follow or who follows you. It's about information. That's why we Tweet and why people read those Tweets. 

OK gang, let's hear them! What are your uses for Twitter? Post em up!