Discovering Twitter: I Don't Want to Be Nudged

Definition of twit: a verb meaning to taunt, tease, ridicule, etc., with reference to anything embarrassing; gibe at.

Above is the formal and more traditional definition of the word twit, which I have never heard anyone use in common language. Then the word twitter started circulating around our campus and the Internet world. What does it mean to twitter and twitting or being a twit? This doesn't have anything to do with the actual definition, even though its meaning is ironic, but it has to do with keeping our friends in the loop.

To my Internet browser I went to discover what it means and how it works. I have friends who started using it and won't stop talking about it. I also felt like it was going to be another social network that is annoying and almost a hassle. I have Facebook and enjoy instant messaging on occasion, but that's all I need. On the home page of twitter.com, titled fittingly "what" it says, "Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co-workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?"

Okay, so this may be simpler than I thought, but I need more, I need to know why I should join this and forget the other social networks. The new page titled "Why" suggests that it provides "basic updates [that] are meaningful to family members, friends, or colleagues." This is like having a parent on Facebook; do I really want them to know what I'm doing at different times throughout the day? However, a Twitter account holder only has 140 characters to describe what he or she is doing, so that isn't too much information for family and colleagues. Friends already know too much about their friends, so that is okay to handle.

I still need more information, so off to the frequently asked questions web page. In some of the questions it says that people seem to like Twitter because "simplicity has played an important role in Twitter's success." It touches on the idea that people are eager to connect and "see" what other people are doing and Twitter makes that easier. So, not only is this becoming the new trend for social networking, it is also an answer to today's societal need of always being "connected" to almost everything and to almost everyone. At the end of this particular statement, a sentence struck me. "Simply put, Twitter is what you make of it-receive a lot of information about your friends, or just a tiny bit. It's up to them."

I'm starting to get it. I can write all 140 characters about my day or just a simple, "It's a great day," and my friends can read or not read my twit if they decide to log in. It is supposed to be the opposite of everything else on the Internet nowadays. There is so much information being thrown at us by the second that Twitter is "a modern antidote" to this overload. I think I like this. I can also follow some celebrities or maybe just a random person who lives across the country. I can read what my friends are doing and even asked them about that later. However, instant messaging and Facebook have similar features already, so what makes it different? Twitter can literally be updated from any technological device. I don't have to be on a computer. I could just have my phone or any portable device. That is easy.

I signed up and started twitting about my life. I'm under AMitch4vt and trying to "tweet" as often as I can. I feel like someone will "nudge" me soon though. That is an option if you don't update enough. It's a way for your followers/friends to say, "Hey, what is going on in your life!" I would recommend at least checking it out, it is a new idea and fresh way to keep up without having to do much but just type a few characters and read other people's chosen characters. That is simple.