Keeping up with Twitter

While I haven't blogged in awhile, I have been busy writing and reading (some online, most brick-and-mortar). One example: I'm closely following news about Twitter and mobile phones because I think they have incredibly potential for communication and creativity.

To keep track of this information for myself and to share with anyone else who is interested, I have started a Twitter articles page. It features links to noteworthy Twitter articles. From the page's intro:

Twitter, the free microblogging service started in 2006, has been used to influence elections in the United States and Iran, break news about natural disasters and political happenings, and gather donations to assist Haitians after the devastating January 2010 earthquake.

While critics deride Twitter, I continually find merit in it. It is powerful in a ground-level way, giving private citizens, companies, organizations and thought leaders (potentially influential) voice on any subject (significant and trivial) they desire. I look forward to seeing how it evolves.

So, will Twitter disappear, as other social networks have? In my opinion, no. It has substantial market share, and while anyone can create their own 140-character microblogging network, terms like "tweet", "tweeting", "followers", "Twitterville", etc. will most likely be synonymous for describing microblogging — referencing the only substantial, well-populated microblogging community existing today.

I read anything I can find about Twitter. Below is my list of noteworthy Twitter articles, including news on new developments, trends and uses of Twitter. It has been sifted to remove much of the fluff: while it's a noteworthy trend that many celebrities have found a comfortable, digital way to constantly communicate with tweet-reading fans, I won't report on it — they are easy enough to find on their own, and are often only "ego-casting" or "life-casting" (brief missives on what they ate for breakfast, what they're wearing, who they're hanging out with, etc.). 

I'll add to this as I find more articles. Questions and comments are always welcome.

(If you want to follow me on Twitter, click here. I don't life-cast, instead focusing on providing useful tech- and creativity-inspired tweets.

I'll announce new articles added in quick posts on this blog.

Regarding life-casting, I found a gem: the Museum of Modern Celebrity Tweets, which shows celebrity life-casting in a humorous light. Above is an illustration of a recent tweet by musician Nick Jonas. Odessa Begay is its illustrator and, I suppose, head curator. Found via Holy Kaw! at Alltop

FYI: My mobile phone articles page is in the works.

Comments

[Crafty Green poet]

I can't decide about Twitter, I can see its uses but I just don't think it suits me, yet I do feel as though its only a matter of time....

[KG]

Hi Crafty Green poet-

I hear you. When I first joined Twitter, I was extremely skeptical. When communities started to form, I became intrigued. When I found people to follow who shared interesting information and ideas, that also convinced me to stay.

Keep me posted on what you think about it! I still wonder how Twitter will evolve long term.

[Leslie]

Ugh, reading this just doubles my knowing that I need to be a part of Twitter. Back when it was VERY fledgling, a friend suggested I join - and I did - for all of 10 minutes. And then I dismissed it as too time-consuming and irrelevant. Bad call! Love your blog, by the way!

[KG]

Hi Leslie-

You can always join Twitter again. Maybe now that you think it's more useful, you'll get more out of it.

Thanks for the good words on my blog and for your visit!