"Twitter Strikes Community Chord" But for What?

A recent article in BtoB magazine discusses the uses that twenty-somethings are now leveraging the tool for. It points out that twitter is another inexpensive channel marketers can tap into and the growing popularity for peers giving each other 'tweets' on their day to day lives.

After it's debut earlier this year at South by Southwest, marketers had high hopes for the new medium but the article cites one of the few instances of value the tool has been used for since then, as the first channel used to spread word of a bay area earthquake. While it may be striking a chord with small circles of friends I think we're still a ways away from creating a full blown community around Twitter and reaching its full potential in making it a viable communication tool.

Do you Twitter?

The ultimate mashup has been made: social networking in combination with mobile marketing. Many of us are aware of Twitter utilities and its recent adoption. And as with most newer services this one has created quite a controversy around how functional it really is.

On one hand many pose the question how 'useful' is it really? Do we really need to be that connected? The 'What are you doing?' tagline has been taken to the extreme as people divulge such dynamic activities as 'raiding the fridge' and 'sorting email'. On the website you can even view the posts of complete strangers. While the multi channel distribution of your message is part of the intrigue, its also a huge part of many Twitter-gripes. Do we not already spend enough time sifting out the valuable emails and IMs from the rest of the jumble? Considering the added distraction and minimal value many are curious "Why the blogworld is atwitter over Twitter?"

But the defense of Twitter fans everywhere, maybe we just haven't yet found the best application for this tool. And hopefully, before we all abandon the idea of being able to twitter about how much we enjoy the oatmeal we just ate, we will find a use to boost it into can't-live-without-it status.