Why Twitter? Why should I consider picking up yet another piece of technology and adding it to my already bulging technological repertoire? I see how technological platforms fit into my professional life but how can these enrich my friendship with those I care about? I often hear these and similar questions asked by Baby-boomers and Gen. X'ers from across the United States and, as a new Twitterer, have asked these questions myself. Many times these questions come from a place of personal frustration or belief that these technologies are just a passing fad. Although I don't believe that I have all of the answers to these questions, what I do believe about Twitter (and Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.) is that these platforms, or future evolutions of them, are here to stay and are fundamentally changing the way we work, learn, make new friends, and stay in touch with each other. In this Blog post I'll be discussing reasons why these platforms are not going anywhere and why we should begin to use them.
Recently I spent a few weeks working on a project in Seoul, South Korea. Although the project that took me to Korea and the trip itself were both a bit exciting, what was not exciting was saying goodbye to my family for almost three weeks. Upon returning and catching up with my wife, Laura, I asked her if she missed me while I was gone. She said yes (of course) but then informed me that friends from her Facebook and Twitter accounts kept her company while I was away. Interesting. The notion that people can use technology platforms to bridge geographic expanses seems fine for passing information in support of professional endeavors but can these platforms provide my wife with enough bandwidth to feel the connection and support of friends from across the country? The answer is yes but probably not in the way that she, or us, are accustomed to.
I'm reminded of the old joke about the man who's home is caught in a flash flood and he begins to pray to God for help. As he prays, someone wading through the water passes by and asks him if he needs help. The man irritably responds "no, I'm praying to God for help, I'll be just fine." Well this dynamic repeats itself twice more with both a rowboat and a helicopter until finally the old man drowns. After death, the man reaches the "pearly gates" and asks God why he didn't answer any of his prayers. God answers by stating, "I did-- I sent you a man, a rowboat, and a helicopter." You get the point...but just in case you didn't here it is. As the world has gotten smaller the geographic expanse between us and those we love and care about has gotten larger, lessening our opportunities to connect. Additionally, the new and ever shortening attention span resulting from the noticeable increase of available information sometimes decreases the quality of human interaction. The result? Less physical connection, in both quantity and quality, with the ones we care about. So, making a statement such as, "I don't really get why I should tweet on Twitter or build a profile on Facebook" while feeling disconnected from friends and family seems, well, a bit illogical.
Technologies, such as Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn are becoming a new medium that is not only replacing the way we find a job, learn, and share knowledge, but how we connect with friends and find a mate as well as . Unconvinced? Look at the facts. The number of "Twitterers" has increased from February 2008 to February of 2009 by 1,382%. Facebook currently supports more than 200 million actives users throughout the world...and growing at a rate of 228% per year . Twitter recently provided a platform that helped dissolve the Govt. of Iran's attempts to barricade the media from covering it's violent reaction to recent election protests. Could blogging, RSS feed platforms (like Twine or Delicious), and Twitter become our new central mode of communication? We are already seeing a number of major newspapers go bankrupt and fail as the global population turns to their I-phones, Blackberries, and computers to get their weekly news.
Foundational changes to the way we work, the way we communicate and the way we bond are here to stay. I certainly don't want to be unfamiliar with these technological platforms if and when the the "old ways" of accomplishing these activities are no longer available.
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