Let's talk Twitter

So here's Twitter.
Some things you could use Twitter for:
-- real time updates to your customers about the condition of crops, i.e. "this is the last week for blueberries at Piotrowicz Farm!"
-- real time updates from a farm stand or farmer's market. "I've got five heads of bronze arrow lettuce left at the West End Market."
-- talking to (and about) legislators if there's a bill coming up that affects you.
-- to give and receive real time information about weather
If you do Twitter, it makes sense to learn more about hashtags.

One general thing to remember: the news media now troll Twitter and other forms of unpaid social media for news ideas.

I still don't know jack

I think one of the keys to Twitter is the slight impression of anonymity. It's less binding-to-you than Facebook.
Twitter is about content and conversation -- and the blurring of the two.
The "following" feature is kind of interesting. In a way it's a lot more invasive than Facebook.
Oh, I give up.
You guys are going to have to figure this out.

Scoble

Doing Twitter wrong?

More ...

Kevin on Twitter Apps.

As someone who regularly uses Twitter (yet doesn't actually tweet all that
much), some may find it odd that I rarely, if ever, actually visit Twitter.com.
While I have nothing against Twitter's website per say, I do find that user an
application for my Twitter viewing is much better. I've tried many (and given
them a fair shake) desktop apps ranging from Tweetie to twhirl to Twitterrific to TweetDeck and on the iPhone, I've
tried TweetDeck and TwitterFon.By far, my favorite, on both platforms, is
TweetDeck. The layout is simple and user-friendly. It's a full featured app that
is powerful yet accessible. It's easy to navigate, easy to pick up yet easy to
utilize to its full potential.I do find it interesting that there is such a
proliferation of Twitter Apps readily available for free use. Unlike the other
major social networks, such as Facebook or MySpace, Twitter Apps have thrived to
the point that I'm not sure I know of any of my friends who actually utilize
Twitter by going to the service's actual website. The app experience allows your
feed to be open all the time, running in the background, allowing quick access
for checking Twitter whenever you want without having to visit the site. I guess
I've become the de-facto app guy for the class so it probably doesn't come as a
surprise that I support and use an app for this but in this case, the app
geniunely makes a Twitter experience easier and more effective.

And on differences with FB

Just as a start to my week's posts (I'm a Twitter believer), I think the
easiest way to look at the difference between the Facebook Status Update Feed
vs. Twitter's feed is that Facebook's is designed to keep track of people you
know. The beauty of Twitter lies in it's ability to follow people you don't. As
a result, where Facebook is a way to keep tabs on your friends and their
activities, Twitter is much more a true news feed from around the world. It is
entirely user-generated and operated.Some people were complaining last night
that they didn't have enough people to follow to make Twitter worthwhile. I'm
not sure Twitter is meant to just check in on friends. It is easy, however, for
people you want to hear more from (sports figures/writers, movie/music critics,
industry leaders, stars) to broadcast their thoughts. I don't necessarily "know"
or need to know ESPN's Adam Schefter but I "know" the Twitter Adam Schefter, who
has the best breaking news on the NFL around.

Kevin Knows Twitter

Here are his fave five.

Here's my list of 5 potential uses of Twitter:1. Crowd-Sourcing: A quick
search for a hashtag or trending topic will give one a pretty good idea as to
what the masses are saying about it. This was initially more difficult without
the use of a client desktop application but since Twitter has implemented a
viable search on their own site, this is a quick and easy process. Let's say I
wanted to see what Eagles fans thought about Sunday Night Football. Search for "Iggles" and there you go.2.
News Source: One can get breaking news information quicker on Twitter than any
place else on the 'net. Whether you choose to follow news organizations such as
the NY Times or rely strictly on the
idea of citizen journalism, a Twitter user can get to the point info fast and
easy.3. Blogging Platform: Tired of writing longer blog entries? Twitter
alleviates that with it's 140 character restriction. When a Twitter user is
efficient and up to date (Adam
Schefter), you can get the information you want without having to sift
through a longer blog entry. Twitter forces the user to boil down his/her post
to the bare minimum, a blast of information without the (sometimes) needless
opinion.4. Keeping up with Friends: An offshoot of #3 and an intrusion on
Facebook's (which has essentially adopted Twitter's format for their news feed)
territory, one could use Twitter for what doubters hate Twitter for. If you want
to tweet that you're sitting watching TV while eating Cheetos, have at it. Just
don't expect anyone other than your friends to follow you.5. Meeting New People:
While Facebook is designed for keeping track of people you know, Twitter is much
easier to find people with similar interests and seeing what they have to say.
Utilize the excellent WeFollow and you can
find Twitterers for just about any topic you want to learn about.

#here

Interesting use of hashtags.
People use them to create a kind of parallel same-time reality.

Or as organizing tools.

Coupla things

Sheila has the cool idea of creating a #Trinblogwar hashtag.

And then there's this.

I still don't really understand the Twitterverse

Do you?

Twitter-mining

Yahoo! jumps in.

Measuring your tweetness.

As if you didn't have enough anxieities.

Rotten Twimatoes

Sort of an interesting use of Twitter.

Speaking of rotten tomatoes...

Tiwi$$er

On a slightly more serious note, here is the latest musing about the business end of Twitter.

Tweggo

Please note the role Twitter is playing in getting us through the national Eggo crisis.

But then, it has divided Canada.

Somebody else figure out what this means

I'm reaching the point where some of the things I learn sound like the teacher talking in the Charlie Brown cartoons.

Life Is Tweet

I barely know what I'm doing, but I did set up a Tweetdeck account. So far, it does not really please me, but I haven't figured out how to get the columns the way I want them.
same goes for TwitScoop. What I really want is a Twitscoop feed onto Tweetdeck that is customized for the searches I want. I bet there's a way to do it.
I did have some success searching Hartford on TwitScoop. I found some people who, I think, will be helpful in some shows I'm doing in early December. (They are young Christians, and I don't know how else I would have found them.) So I've started following them.
I also purged out some of the followees one seems to get as a default setting on Twitter. I kept a few, like Jimmy Fallon, just for the sake of heterogenity. Then I started following Shirky and a few other people germane to our work.

I Tweet, Therefore I am

If you're puzzled, you can read this helpful intro. There are links near the end that go into more depth. You might even fool around with posterous if you get curious.

This guy offers a few tips.

I'm Thecolinmcenroe, by the way.

Could someone tell me tonight if...

...monkeys are flying out my ass?
Or some other 2012 thing?

Because the improbable is happening.

And, indeed, for next week, you must all have Twitter accounts and have used them and have learned about Tweetdeck and Twitscoop.
And hashtags.

You'll all be required to find FIVE things you could use Twitter for.
This has some of the same ones but more.

Not for this week

Just posting this thing about Twitter, so that I don't lose it.
(This is where some of you want to start using tags.)