Isn’t Life Strange?

Although I have only sent two tweets (messages), I can see the potential in Twitter.  

Essentially, Twitter is what you make of it.  The basic concept is that users have a limit of 140 characters in which to leave a message that they want others to read.  Think of it as a miniature blog.  Members can then "follow" other users and receive their messages throughout the day using a cell phone, instant messenger, or a number of custom made desktop applications or widgets.  Twitter members can also send messages to one another. 

One way a person might want to use it is for exclamations and other random thoughts.  Say you just saw the new Iron Man movie and wanted to let everyone know how great you thought it was.  You can quite simply use your cell phone to text a message saying "Wow!  The new Iron Man Movie is fantastic!"  That message would then instantly appear on your Twitter page and be sent to any of your friends who are following you.  In my case, it would also appear in the sidebar of my blog where I have installed a Twitter widget. 

There are actually some useful potential applications of this service.  Say for example you are running late to a meeting with a number of people and you want to let more than one of them know.  If those people follow you on Twitter and have their cell phones set up for the service (an easy procedure), they will all instantly get the message.   I could have used it on my recent trip by posting my immediate impressions of my time at Mount Rushmore and letting everyone know that I would be posting photos later that night.  Twitter may also be a good way to send instant weather or traffic information. 

It’s actually a very interesting little piece of technology and I imagine others will find many different uses for it in the future.