11 Things Twitter is Good For

One thing I’ve noticed about the new Google Wave service (I got invites btw, leave a comment here if you want one) is that people end up asking “What is this good for anyway?”

To be fair to Wave, I get asked the same question about Twitter by people who don’t use it.

The difference is that with Twitter, I can actually answer the question. Twitter is great for so many things. In no particular order, here are some of the uses I have for Twitter in my life:

1. Weather reports -
   Following people from across the country, you can easily follow the weather too. Rain reported from someone in the town north of us means I’ll be tweeting rain in about 20 minutes. About an hour or two later, depending on the wind, the Jerusalem area folks will be tweeting about the same clouds reaching their area. It’s like having your own satellite weather reports system – you get to track weather systems across the country. Way cool.
2. Importing -
   Living in Israel, there is some stuff that you simply need to bring in from the States (ok, that you want to, often because it costs a fraction of what it costs here). I’ve been blessed with great Twitter friends, that are willing to receive stuff I buy in the US to their home address there, then bring it with them as they come back to Israel. I have used this import service twice already (with different tweeple) and it works like a charm! I know that others have been using it as well
3. News Updates -
   Nothing is as fast as Twitter. When balloon boy’s balloon flew into the air, Twitter was the first place you could read about it. It seemed so bizarre, I actually tried verifying the story at Google News and CNN.com. Nothing. No one had any information about it until about 20 minutes after I saw the first Tweet.
4. Information services -
   I love how you can fire a question into the Twittverse and answers start flowing in. Any question on your mind? chances are someone might know. Ask people to retweet your question and give it a few hours. I’ve tried this several times with awesome results. The best part? no long article to read – answers come in 140 characters!
5. Complaints -
   ok, so some product or service you’re using isn’t working properly. You go on Twitter and rant. Surprise! the product now talks back to you! I’ve had it happen to me twice already – there’s something spooky about it, in a way. Someone is actually listening and replying to your rants!
6. Finding stuff -
   it’s like a gigantic free-flowing Craig’s list. Homes for sale/rent, cars, jobs, you name it. With the power of retweeting – the right message can get to thousands and tens of thousands of people fairly quickly.
7. Emotional support -
   It’s one of the most central functions of social media, IMO. Forums, facebook, blog comments – they can all provide emotional support in times of need. With Twitter, the messages are short but just as effective. Sometimes, all you need is a virtual hug, or a shared smile – and 140 characters can deliver that very well.
8. Real life friendships -
   probably my favorite use! I have met seven of my Twitter friends in real life so far. Some were visiting Israel for a short while, others are here for longer. They’re great people, from diverse backgrounds and I consider all of them to be real friends.
9. Comparing living standards -
   So they actually teach Algebra in the third grade at your kid’s school? so this is the kind of car they drive where you live? how much do you pay for gast? what are you paying for dental care? You wear ties to work? With twitter, you get a unique insight into other people’s daily life that you can get nowhere else. Call it comparative anthropology/sociology if you like.
10. Checking on internet accessibility -
    as a webmaster I sometimes need instant feedback from users. Can you access this page I just published? Do you like this design? Is this link working for you? With Twitter there’s always someone online that will be nice enough to take a minute and check for you.
11. Debates -
    it’s pretty amazing, but we can actually have serious debates in 140 characters tweets. As a matter of fact, having to condense your thoughts into 140 characters makes forces you to be more precise and accurate. With new people “barging in” on your debates, you get a multitude of perspectives and ideas.

Nice long list so far… but it’s getting too long. I just posted on my other blog about Making Lists on Your Blog and argued there that lists should be kept to ten items or less… so much for following my own advice!

If you can think of other things Twitter gives you, do share them in comments here. And don’t forget to tweet this!

And don’t forget to follow me on Twitter!

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