Twitter: What Has Your Attention

I am a huge fan of Twitter.  But many people I talk to are still confused about what it is and why someone would do it.  Twitter originally (and probably still) asked users, "What are you doing?"  And this is why I get so much negative feedback about Twitter - because that's such a self-centered question.  People ask me, "Why are you so important that people want to know what you had for lunch today?"

That's their best response:  Who cares what you're eating right now or that you're at the gas station...

I agree!!  Who CARES!?!?!

Why Twitter?  When you give Twitter a couple weeks of your time, at only 5 minutes per day, you'll see how it can be so addicting.  Personally, I follow people interested in business, leadership, exercise, and social media.  These are all interests of mine and I can instantly get information that is relevant to my life.  You see, instead of using Twitter to answer the question "what are you doing", the people I follow are basically commenting on "what has your attention right now."  Do you see the difference?  The later question means we're sharing information about interests, not necessarily ME.

The other thing that non-Twitter users don't understand is how quickly we can filter through unnecessary tweets.  Especially on my iPod touch, I can page right through a handful of people's tweets depending on how much time I have at that particular moment.  I can also add tweets to my favorites so I can go back later when I have more time and read further.

Have I peaked your interest?  As with email, Facebook, and even talking to people on the phone, Twitter can be used as much or as little as you want.  I'm not a slave to Twitter - I use it as a tool.  And it can be a powerful tool for information, ideas, research, and relationships if use it right.