Still Not Tweeting? #youshouldbe

You know what I can’t stand?  Boring people. Those dull, lackluster, lovers of the status quo. The types you can talk to for 10 minutes and struggle to find some meaningful takeaway from the conversation. We can’t all be a walking, talking ball of charisma, but sometimes I meet people and wonder if the AA batteries in that panel on their back need changing. Whatever the reason, if you or someone you know would tie for 1st place with a roll of paper towels in a personality contest, hang on tight- because help might be found with just one word:



                                                               TWITTER


It’s time for me and my (sometimes) opinionated self to once again sing the praises of Twitter, my favorite addiction form of social media for well over a year. I've signed on in the earlier days of March 2009, and now you can't open a magazine, webpage, or see an ad without the recognizable 't' icon.


You can’t tell me in 5 minutes of tweet-scrolling you haven’t learned something new, disagreed passionately with another’s opinion, promised yourself to look further into a certain topic, or #hashtaggedaridiculousstatement punctuating your 140 character pearl of wisdom.
I’m right. You can admit it. I can honestly say I’ve done all of these things…and then some (Dozens of twitpics? Guilty. Tweeted from my Kindle, Pandora, and Droid? Guilty.)


There’s no exclusivity factor in Twitter; no wall to shamelessly tag 10,000 pictures of yourself (blurry, out of focus ones included), no pressure to sit there and dig deep in your reservoir of funny, insightful material hoping this time the thumbs up count from your loyal circle of friends hits the double digits! (How AWESOME would that be?!?!?)


Nope. No friends (or followers, as they say in twitspeak) required. The experience is much more enjoyable though when someone replies to your A+ gem of a tweet… and maybe even retweets it! (This is an honor held in extremely high regard in the Twitter world.) You pick and choose who you want to follow- be it your favorite athlete, politician (not gonna go there), radio DJ, that person hiding behind the quasi-famous escape artist snake (@BronxZoosCobra and yes, I’m a follower and a fan!), or a friend. Tweet whatever you're feeling or strikes you as humorous, or don't tweet at all. Silent twittering (following only) will still hit you with tons of info faster than anything other form of media. Really though... who can keep quiet when there's so much to say??


The possibilities are now endless with retailers, restaurants, and nonprofits also making up the mix of the thousands you can follow. Unlike Facebook, there’s no drama when you ‘unfollow’ someone, as the majority of those you follow don’t personally know you. Getting bombarded by Lady Gaga’s incessant tweeting about her new music? Easy. Unfollow her, and follow again after the album drops. The menu is easy to navigate, and there’s no labyrinth- like adventure to update simple settings like some applications (**cough** Facebook)


The key to all of this is the 140 character limit. It actually encourages people to get to the point. None of the babbling, never-ending status updates you find on Facebook, as people painfully describe the nightmarish Friday traffic on the way to the shore, or recap the cloudy weather the entire weekend (weatherman lied!). Twitter thrives on the ‘short but meaningful’ theory. It takes a little to get used to, but after a while it’s easy to share your thoughts in 140 characters or less. With a little practice, you’ll soon be speaking fluently in the language of @ and #. There’s also an obvious lack of generic contributions on Twitter, at least from those I follow. The waste of space I see on Facebook updates such as ‘at work’ or ‘going to bed’ are scarce in the world of tweets.


So back to my original point- next time you or someone you know is at a loss for small talk at the neighborhood picnic, grab the phone, discreetly scroll through the tweet log, and there you go- instant conversation starter!  In 10 minutes a day, broken down to five 2-min scroll sessions (my usage is slightly higher than this haha) you will be thoroughly updated on your favorite people and interests. If you follow the right mix of news/music/celebs/sports/business/friends, you'll be Twitter crazy no time.

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