So the story goes a little something like this. Maybe four or five months ago I started to hear a lot of buzz about something called Twitter. FaceBook was just starting to come into its prime, and I was anxious to see what the next big thing would be in Social Networking. So without knowing much about it, I signed up for an account. I started first with a few "tweets" as they are so childlishly refered to. Short public messages that let people know what your doing (think Facebook status). I was so excited that I told my girlfriend at the time, now ex, that I came across this amazing new website that lets people know what your doing all the time. Her response? Sounds great if you enjoy stalking or being stalked, but what's the point. *pause* I didn't know how to answer.Fast forward those four to five months, and I've finally seen the light after a night of giving out Apple tech advice, comparing Chris Paul to Deron Williams, commenting on the unbelievable UFC Fight for the Troops event, and meeting some very interesting people. Let me try to explain.
Have you ever been to a party that didn't involve kegs, togas, or your neighbours swimming pool? I'm talking the classic cocktail party you'll see in a movie, or on a smaller scale a house warming party with a group of people your not entirely familiar with. What do you do? If your socially astute you spend most of your time moving from conversation to conversation looking for interesting people, or at the very least an interesting conversation. You'll most likely spend half of the evening speaking to uninteresting people about topics you would never choose to discuss, and probably through in a half dozen terribly akward situations that you would never want to re-live (See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtyO4tmpPdk#). Well imagine for a second that before you walked into the room you could not only hear ever conversation that was going on, but also hear the silent thoughts of everyone in the room (well at least the ones they wanted you to hear). Wouldn't that make things alot more easier? If your a Leafs fan you might join in on the conversation at the bar between a couple die hards (Note: What's do the Titantic and the Maple Leafs have in common? They both cost alot of money and look great before the hit the ice). Or maybe you've got a newborn on the way, and decide to join in on the group of parents talking about the traces of melamine in baby formula (http://tinyurl.com/5aj69u) or plotting to take down Motrin (http://tinyurl.com/5gjapw) . Or maybe you're like me and hate large social situation, so you sit near the orderves and wonder how you go about auditioning for the Amazing Race; only to have a producer stop by to point out your Canadian.
This is Twitter in a nutshell. Connections with people that share similar interests, conversations with people who can either learn from or teach something to, getting your message or opinion out to the world, or finding the answers to questions that pop into your head throughout the day. There are so many amazing practical applications to Twitter that are just dying for you discover them. From my buddy Pat who recently started his own MMA clothing company (www.lightsoutfightwear.ca - *big sale now!) and wants to get the word out, to my mother Dianne who's always looking for interesting diet or medical advice, to my buddy Andrew who will drop anything for a good basketball debate, to my sister Renee who needs a quick way to keep her friends and family updated while she's in Africa. Twitter gives you the ability to search for tweets (again think Facebook status) based on topics of your interest, engage in quick conversations with the people who tweeted, and then follow the rest of their tweets if you find them interesting enough; or have them follow you if they find the same.
So if you havn't given it a try, head over to www.twitter.com and sign up for a quick account. Add me "@scobes" and then start searching for topics, following people and let me know what you think. If you're already on Twitter I would love to hear about how you use it. If your still confused or want some advice on how to get started, feel free to drop me a line here and I would love to help.
My profile: http://twitter.com/scobes
Twitter Topic Search: http://search.twitter.com
Twitter Video: http://dotsub.com/api/smallplayer.php?filmid=3066&filminstance=3068&language=none
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