(On some Instinctual level I think that title is way too long)

A Twittering Individual who followed me of late peaked my “Who be this?” twitch and I stumbled on an entry about an entry that was about (what appears to be…) a currently raging debate on the various Twitter-like services out there. I ended up commenting on that entry and then the origin because it seemed appropriate but since I expressed a more rounded view than I thought I had on the matter I’m making an oh-so dangerous posting here. The Gaping Void post.

The general feel I have for services like Twitter is that they provide a very easy and very simple way to get the information and thoughts out there for people who don’t want the responsibility of running a blog, want to avoid the invasive data-mining of the social network and very quickly fire off something witty, something silly, something topical or genuinely answer that all important Twitter question… What are you doing?

It is the amazingly simple user imagined uses for the Twitter service that provide it power, the ease and vigour with which old media companies allowed their fresh blood (The poor people tasked with taking them safely into the dangerous ocean of the new media)to ride the waves or at the very least test the waters with a big toe.

Services that have grown from Twitter constantly appear on very handy blogs like Lifehacker. I personally like the example of TwitterLit which Tweets the first line of books, as a voracious reader the potential for spontaneity in book selections intrigues me… I am amazed by the single lines which draw me to a book and those which fall flat.

Then again I didn’t realise I had an opinion worth voicing on the matter. I have not seen as many useful applications of the other services by talented and imaginative users. The other services seem to bloat the issue with audio and video inclusions… I think they miss what makes it so appealing… It is the beauty of the 140 characters and a simple @.

Something I failed to add on my comments was that I’d like to see all the services reach some sort of agreement that allows at least a basic level of cross-over.

Tags: Twitter

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 4th, 2008 at 5:48 am and is filed under Rants. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.