Twitter: The Global Cocktail Party

by D.B. Grady

Have a technology-related question, or advice for other users? Email me at tech@timessw.com

The first tweet is the hardest. Twitter might be the social network du jour, attracting everyone from Karl Rove to Shaquille O'Neal, but it can be intimidating to a new user. What does one make of the three million messages posted daily, and where does a new user fit in the global conversation?
For the uninitiated, Twitter is the web service founded in 2006 that asks a simple question: "What are you doing?" Users have 140 characters – the upper limit of a mobile phone text message – to answer. And answer it they have. Sports fans comment on the action as it happens. American Idol viewers offer snap judgments of performances. Political junkies disseminate information and offer opinion before the headlines are even written. Discussions once confined to living rooms and cocktail parties now have global reach and global influence.

Twitter bridges the gap between Facebook and blogging. Where Facebook brings together friends through personal connections, Twitter works to connect strangers through ideas. Other users follow you based on your tweets, as Twitter updates are called. You, in turn, have the option of following those users whose tweets interest you.

Blogging is the ideal medium for expansive discourse, but slightly lumbering a beast to share a single thought or interesting link. Twitter, however, thrives on the brief, the hot news item or cool website.

Businesses ignore Twitter at their peril. Because Twitter operates at the speed of thought, it doesn't take long for a botched car rental in Des Moines or a rude airline representative in Memphis to blossom into a national complaint-fest.

In response, many large businesses have established a Twitter presence, and respond on the spot to irate customers. This presence also gives lumbering corporations a human face, and demonstrates a public, proactive customer service that might otherwise be cost-prohibitive or ineffective.

Similarly, Twitter is a powerful weapon for directing traffic to websites and special deals. Everyone from the New York Times to the Times of Southwest Louisiana post breaking news and highlight recent editorials. Jazzy Bird Coffee, a gourmet espresso company out of Baton Rouge recently joined Twitter as part of a marketing strategy to build brand recognition as it expands into other states. "I've been amazed at the number of unsolicited tweets," says Shari LeBlanc, the company's co-founder.

Because it is an open network, a cottage industry of software has arisen around Twitter. Twitter Job Search (http://www.twitterjobsearch.com) does just what one might expect. Based upon search criteria, it lists newly available jobs tweeted by companies. TwitterFon (http://www.twitterfon.net/) is a free program that integrates Twitter into the iPhone. And if you'd like to add pictures to your tweets, TwitPic (http://www.twitpic.com) can help.

Like any other online community, there is a social etiquette that should be respected. Excessive self-promotion is considered offensive, and a good way to lose audience. Because Twitter is, at its best, a freewheeling discussion, using your account as a megaphone is poor form. The best way to build friendships is to reply to others, and to acknowledge those who reply to you. Similarly, when followed, take time to check out the other user's profile. If they seem interesting, follow them in return.

A visit to Shaquille O'Neal's house is likely to result in a restraining order. Phone calls will, at best, be unreturned. But he's on Twitter and is fond of talking with fans. Send him a message, and you might be surprised by what you get back.

Yes, that first tweet is the hardest. But the best way to learn is to log in and have fun; you've already got two friends waiting. The Times of Southwest Louisiana can be found at www.twitter.com/TimesSWLA. I can be reached at www.twitter.com/dbgrady. We're looking forward to meeting you.

Have a technology-related question, or advice for other users? Email me at tech@timessw.com