Twitter: For the Birds...

So unless you've been living under a rock, in a cave, or on Mars (and none of these places have internet connection) then you've probably heard about a little thing called Twitter. It's a social networking site that appears to have become the top dog among other sites such as Myspace and Facebook. However, I have been hearing so much about it now more than ever that I have to offer my two cents.

First, let me just say that I consider Twitter with mixed feelings. For one, the creators are geniuses. A site where you just tell people what you're doing at any given moment? A concept so stupidly simple, its no wonder it's become an international phenomenon. It's drawn the attention of politicians, celebrities, and the media itself. EVERYONE does it. But that's where my problems surface. As people who are naturally prone to ignoring other people unless they are at least our aquaintances, isn't it a little weird that we're sharing our schedule with the entire world? Recently, the idea of Twitter becoming a tv channel was thrown up in the air. The hordes of the rich and famous were quick to shoot down this bird (pun sorta intended). Many felt that it would be an invasion of privacy. And that's where my face blew up.

Twitter is nothing more that an open invitation for anyone to see what any given person is doing any time that person "tweets/twitters" it. Now I hope that people don't write every single aspect of their life down, but even things that you're willing to share let people know where you are and what you're doing. Paint it whatever color you like, but that is still a willing invitation to privacy. Not to mention the drain it creates on our society as a whole. Do we really need to know that Lance Armstrong watched "Gran Torino" on a plane to Aspen? Or that Ashton Kutcher has over 1 million people following his seemingly non-existent life as an actor? The most logical answer is no, but the masses say otherwise.

Now, I'm not saying Twitter is all bad. In fact, in some circumstances it can actually be used very effectively. Felicia Day (of the hit web series The Guild) has created a huge following in which she updates fans on the progress of the show and lets them know how her work on it (as actor, writer and producer) is going. Twitter can also be used to give updates to families, businesses and friends. But this is only if it is used in small increments. Letting your family know how a surgery went or your co-workers how a meeting went is much more effective than having to call them all or write an e-mail to them. If the info is vital, then people will pay attention; if not, then they'll let it slip right on through.

Bottom line: We need to be much more temperate on this baby-blue giant of social networking. By letting people know about the most insignificant aspects of our lives, we begin to lose our sense of privacy and our sense of what's vital for others to know. However, we need to learn how to use this outlet usefully so that we can start seeing Twitter as more of a help than a hindrance.

P.S. Since Twitter is staying around for a while, the creator need to create a definitive verb for writing on it. Tweet or Twitter? Or something else? All readers of this blog should vote in the comments section.