One month ago, I wrote on this blog that I would begin using Twitter for a month, and see how it worked, both technically and practically. Now, one month later, here are some reflections:
- Overall, I liked it. I added observations and comments via the Web and my cell phone (via text messaging), and it all worked pretty well.
- I found myself making three types of comments — secret gripes about things I didn’t have an outlet for at the time, quick observations, probably trivial, and small blog entries (micro-blogging). All three were interesting enough, and very easy to contribute.
- I found myself reading the micro-blogging of a few Twitter feeds I followed. I knew when certain people were going to a movie, eating hot dogs, traveling, feeling bored/anxious/tired, reading something they liked, going to the vet, etc. It gave me insights into the lives of people I like, and a new perspective on them and their lives. It was a good connector in a unique way. It added spice.
- I was fooled by a Stephen Colbert poser. One night shortly after I started the experiment, I received an email saying that Stephen T. Colbert had begun following my Twitter feed. I’d just Twittered something about Colbert, so I figured this was some automatic filter that had set this up. But it was still exciting. I’m a big Colbert fan, and the site looked legitimate enough. But I found out that it was a sham. Oh well.
- I could Twitter from darn near anywhere, including from my car stuck in traffic (not moving!), meetings (sorry), my deck, breakfast, or late at night. It became pretty spontaneous.
- Twitter is a community all its own. It has technical problems, etiquette, chicanery, and tools that are interesting. It’s growing, maturing. It’s worth watching.
- Twitter is young. There are still people doing silly things on it. Mixed feelings about that.
- Technically, Twitter is unstable. Either it is so popular that they are having a hard time keeping the infrastructure scaling with its growth, or it’s poorly architected, or both. But it went down 2-3 times during the month, not a big deal, but a source of frustration for me and many people on Twitter.
All in all, I’m glad I did it, and I will continue to Twitter. As Steve Horowitz from Google said in a video about their new Android cell phone platform, to create (or get to know) a product, “you actually have to live with it.”
I couldn’t agree more.
[You can find my Twitter feed here.]
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