Still Twittering

I've been on Twitter for a couple of months now. Twitter has increased in popularity over the last year but it is still a minority sport. So for those people who don’t know what it is, here is my attempt at a brief summary:

Twitter is a type of micro-blogging where you answer the question "What are you doing?" It is up to you how often you decide to answer this question. Every time you update your status and answer the question about what you are doing this is sent to the people who have signed up to 'follow' you.

What makes Twitter so interesting to me is the way it combines SMS on the mobile phone and IM on the internet. For example you can update your status from your mobile phone as you go about your day when you are away from a computer. Your followers can then read your updates on your Twitter page, via an instant messenger on their computer or, if they choose, by text message to their mobile. Because messages are designed to be transmitted via SMS they are limited to 140 characters.

The way that people use Twitter varies greatly. Some stick strictly by the original plan and answer the question "What are you doing?" Others use it to create mini blog posts about whatever is on their mind at the time or to post links to articles on the web. Over the last couple of months I have tended to do a combination of all of these types of Twittering.

In many ways it is difficult to see the attraction of Twitter until you've gotten into it. Now that I am I wouldn't like to do without it!