Twitter is one of the few things I had before it was “cool.” About a year before it hit the main-mainstream, I headed over to the intriguing micro-blogging client and signed up for an account, posting an update from time to time (this was before I had ever heard the word “tweet”). Unfortunately for me, by the time it became popular in my hometown and became CNN’s mistress, I thought it was stupid and pointless. These thoughts were confirmed when friends of mine actually started “tweeting” about every insignificant, unimportant, painfully uninteresting thing they did. As such, I pretty much abandoned the site, other than using it to promote this blog. However, the Twitter account I made for my blog failed to attract many followers, and I had left a couple dozen behind at my other account, so I switched back and  began using my personal Twitter account to promote my blog. I re-branded it with a new background and changed my user name from rypic7 to simply ryanpiccirillo. This prompted to me to give the website one last try.

After using it for about a week, following a couple celebrities, and posting a few non-blog tweets, I have decided that it is not Twitter itself which is stupid and pointless, but the Twitter userbase which is stupid and pointless. This indictment, of course, does not extend to all users of Twitter, but to either a majority or a vocal minority. For some, Twitter is a self-indulgent me-fest where users post ego-centric updates about every detail of their lives. However, I have found that Twitter has a much greater potential that many have failed to take advantage of. Twitter shouldn’t be another internet platform where users pretend like the world cares about them individually, but should instead be a place where users enter their voice into a global aggregate of worldwide attitudes.

What do I mean by this, exactly? People’s tweets tend to be self-interested and are often not even really about anything. Take my friend Tanner (sorry pal – I picked you because I know you DGAF): in the past hour he has Tweeted the following:

• Ahhhh, morning
• Showah
• Dressed nice today
• Gotta get to class but i left all my shit in Dub’s room -_-
• I’m late I’m late I’m late!
• Fun Sized

I reiterate: that was all in the last hour. Within those tweets, Tanner has provided a decent amount of information about his morning, but honestly I don’t care about it, and neither should anyone else. The information is all purely Tanner-relevant, often obscure, and always mundane. One could argue that its good for Tanner to tweet these things because now he doesn’t have to report that information in real life to his friends. However, if this is an attitude we hold, then it won’t be long until actual human interaction becomes obsolete. In my humblest opinion, reporting mundane ego-centric information is not how we should be using Twitter.

So then, Mr.So-Arrogant-As-To-Tell-Me-I’m-Using-A-Website-Wrong, how should we be using Twitter? Good question, offended user. I will start off by detailing Twitter functionality which enables a more substantive usage of the service:

• #hashtags – Hashtags enter one’s tweets into a category with other tweets sharing the same hashtag. A word is saved as a hashtag when the user places the pound (#) symbol before that word. When the tweet is published, followers can click that hashtagged word, which has become a link, to see a realtime stream of global tweets on that subject.
• Trending topics – The Twitter sidebar features a panel of trending topics, including hashtags, words, and phrases that have seen a spike in tweets. This can be set to show worldwide trends, or local trends by city or state. The topics in the list are clickable and bring the user to a page similar to the hashtag page, showing a realtime stream of mentions of the trending topic.
• Search - Twitter allows users to search for certain words or phrases of interest. This, again, returns a realtime stream of updates containing those words, giving the user a relevant, perpetually updated base of information and opinion.
• Google Latest Results – When certain topics are seeing a lot of global internet activity, a live stream called “Google Latest Results” will show up when the query is entered. This stream includes Twitter updates, blog posts, and news articles, constantly updated with the latest results.

There is a clear common factor between the four aspects of the “Twittersphere” (I hate this lexicon – thanks for that word Sophie) I described above: the realtime stream. The stream demonstrates Twitter’s potential not only as a publishing platform, but, just as importantly, as a platform for information-consumers. The stream represents a global discussion – an aggregate of opinions and attitudes on an infinite variety of subjects. Take the health care debate that took place this weekend – as I watched on TV, there were certain things I saw happening that triggered the question in my mind, “Hey, what do people think of that?” I found out by watching the Twitter stream as I watched my TV. When a fellow congressman shouted “baby killer” at Bart Stupak, I wanted to know if other people were as outraged as I was. First, I updated my status with my opinion, using the hashtags #bartstupak, #babykiller, and #hcr (health care reform) in the process. I then clicked my own hashtags, all three of which were soon trending topics on Twitter, and found out that a lot of people shared the same opinion as me, but just as strikingly, a lot of people lauded whoever shouted the remark as a hero against the legislation. It was exciting to be a part of that discussion. As I read some updates, new ones kept pouring in, deepening the trough of opinion on the subject.

I had a similar experience when watching Lost last night. It was probably the most shocking episode of the whole series (gdhdfjwshgfishf SO GOOD!!!), and I headed to Twitter during the breaks to see what other people thought. Some loved it, some hated it, some asked questions, others answered. It was great, and all relevant to anyone watching.

So then, how should you use Twitter? First of all, don’t think of your tweets as personal status updates, but think of them as additions to a global conversation. As such, make your tweets relevant to a wide audience. I am not, however, advocating the complete prohibition of status updates, but I am saying make them relevant. For instance, if you’re going to the beach with your friends, don’t just say that. Say something like “Spending the day at the #beach. I can’t believe the #weather is so nice in #Boston in #March!” Campy and corny as it may be, this status update lets people know what you’re doing so you can get your fix of egocentricity, but it also tells other users who might search similar hashtags what the weather is like in Boston today, and this month, and the activities people in the city are doing as a result.

Just a real life example of a personal status update that is relevant to others: In my COM class last semester we were told about an airline company which searches for tweets about their airline. If someone is dissatisfied with their service, they respond and ask if there is anything they can do. A lot of people tweet from the airport if flights are delayed, and they always respond to these, apologizing for the inconvenience. Its a great public relations tool.

There are, however, several more acceptable uses of Twitter, in my opinion:

• A platform for your opinions – People are interested in what other people think about certain topics – not just politics. If something happens that you have an opinion on, share it. If you see a TV show and love the episode, share it, If you hate it, share it. However, don’t just enter your voice into the conversation – participate actively in it by reading and responding.
• A platform for sharing interesting content – I, for instance, post my blog posts to my Twitter, and am going to start doing so with hashtags so people who want to read them can. But I have seen people post links, pictures, and other content which they think others will find interesting – its not just about them, but its for everyone else.
• A platform for entertainment – This one comes directly from my experience of following Conan O’Brien. He tweets once or twice a day, and almost every tweet makes me laugh. If you have an entertaining observation, short anecdote, or witticism, share it. Chances are other people will be entertained by it too.
• A platform to spread local/niche news quickly – Twitter is a great place to hear and spread news about local georgraphic communities as well as niche communities and fan bases. (Thanks to Christopher Leone for the tip! Check out his blog here.)

Its easy to see that my conception of the ideal twittersphere puts a lot less emphasis on followers, at least in the traditional sense. I don’t think that followers should simply be all of your friends, but instead should be people interested in your tweets, opinions, and content you share. Obviously a lot of these people will end up being friends, though, but if your content is relevant and interesting to others, then that should change.

Having said all of this, there are places where Twitter is really in need of improvement:

• The reply system -Twitter should implement a more discreet version of the Facebook feedback platform. Replying to a tweet should put your response below the original tweet, not just a link back to it. The responses should be hidden by default, and, as on Facebook, when you want to see responses to a particular tweet, you click “show feedback,” which would be put in the same place that “in reply to” is now. This allows for a more in-depth discussion to take place and puts your responses in context.
• The @username system – My problem with the @username system is similar to my problem with the reply system. When you tweet @someone, that person is never notified that they have been tweeted @ and may never even find out. The user should receive a notifcation and the @ tweet should be displayed on that users profile in its proper chronological place.
• The 140-character limit - I agree with a limit on length so keep tweets short and sweet, but I think it should be upped to 160, or even 200. 140 is very short, and seems arbitrary enough to allow for change.

Those three improvements would make the service a lot better while keeping Twitter’s graceful simplicity intact.

WITH ALL OF THAT SAID, follow me on twitter.

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