Tweet-Twit-Twitter

I just checked the date of me joining Twitter: March 2008. That's insane, I can't even believe that I've been aware of Twitter, let alone actually a part of it for that long. Granted, I didn't start really using it until the election debates but nevertheless, I'm kinda pleased with myself for recognizing it as a good tool before CNN and the rest of the world discovered it.

I've had a lot of people ask me what the point of Twitter is, why would someone use it and why anyone would want to be constantly updated by their friends and people they didn't know. What I want to know it, Why WOULDN'T someone be on Twitter? Maybe it's because I'm the kind of person who is practically glued to my laptop but except for those times when I want to be totally shut off from everyone else, I love knowing what people are up to. I like being able to quickly publish my short thoughts and observations and I love reading the musings of others. Plus I think it's insanely cool that I have a direct connection to people like Stephen Fry and Trent Reznor. These are people who I have so much respect for and they're letting me into their life. I think that is brilliant.

And even if someone did not want Twitter for their personal enjoyment, it's a fantastic tool. For bands, musicians, artists and companies it's another way to reach out to your base and to keep people up to date with news, releases and promotion. It's all about permission marketing and having followers is exactly that. When you follow someone on Twitter (or even Facebook and other similar sites) you're saying that you want to hear what they have to say. That's why it is the perfect tool for bands. They have their fans right there. The fans are asking to be updated and told about tour dates, it's what they want.

So use it. Jonathan Coulton uses it to get requests for his shows. Trent Reznor uses it to tell his fans when to check the website. Saul Williams uses it for his wonderful, poetic musings.
There is no one thing that twitter can do. So it's up to creative people to come up with new ways to use it. And that's the best thing about it