I just finished reading a little book by Tim O’Reilly and Sarah Milstei, The Twitter Book. It is aimed at Twitter newbies (such as myself) and it does a nice job explaining the power of Twitter and all its various usages for personal and business needs. It didn’t took me long to finish it as well, as it is written in the spirit of Twitter - short and to the point. It takes you from a Twitter ignorant to a pro in no time ;)
But why would one want to know about Twitter anyway? Hmmm, tough one. To be honest, i didn’t see much value in Twitter either, when i first created an account. I actually didn’t use it much at all - I wasn’t sure why i needed yet another communication channel to tell the world about what I’m doing, thinking, eating. I have a blog, like everyone else, right? And I’m not posting much on it. I have an account on Facebook like everyone else, right? But i am not using it much apart from playing Texas Hold’em occasionally. So what is different with Twitter that would make me tweet regularly each week, or day, or even more times per day? And who would care about it anyway?
First, the tweets are short messages that must obey the 140 character limit. So you don’t have to engage more than a minute (unlike when you are posting on a blog) to get your thought across. And when you start following smart and witty people, it is actually very amusing reading their tweets. It is like peeking into their minds. And that gives you motivation to tweet back. And in a matter of no time it becomes great fun!
I admit, i am a Twitter newbie but i am starting to be really hooked. And not just thanks to the book ;)