Twitter is a micro-blogging service that allows people to post short (140 character) posts or tweets. You can send and receive posts via the web, text messaging, email, or instant messaging. If you subscribe to a service like Jott you can even phone in your post. Jott does a great job of speech-to-text conversion. You might use a service like Twitter to post what you are doing, like "eating Twinkies" or "watching bad horror movie." But its real value is in the immediacy of the information that is shared. You can follow the tweets of major news organizations like CNN or The New York Times. During major events, like the fires in California last year, one of the best ways to learn what was going on was through collaborative Twitter postings by people in the midst of the event. If you are at a conference or lecture, you can post what is happening and your thoughts. Some people post only links to things they find interesting. The amount of information and knowledge that can be easily shared via Twitter is amazing.
How to get started with Twitter:
- Create an account.
- Set up a device (instant messaging, mobile phone, or both).
- Start tweeting.
- Look for other Twitters and follow them
I like this introduction to Twitter from Commoncraft:
