why i think some people just don't get twitter...

i've been a big twitter fan for a few years now. and even though many of us are heavy users of the little, blue tweet-goodness... we forget that there are still many many people out there who don't see the atttraction.

ever wonder why some people just don't get twitter? maybe you're one of them.


imagine walking into a firehouse. and all you see is bunch of guys sitting around. they're relaxing... shooting a basketball... grilling up some burgers... maybe washing a truck. doesn't look too impressive, does it?

maybe because you don't really see the full potential of that firehouse until something big happens! the alarm sounds... and the action starts! all of a sudden a well-tuned machine jumps to life and everything starts coming together. in under a minute firefighters are dressed and loading into trucks. equipment is stowed, the trucks roll out and the trained teams are on their way to the scene. something big happens. something that makes a difference.

i look at twitter much in the same way. the first time you get on, there's not a lot going on. and for the most part, you see a lot of "going to grab some lunch"... and "whoa, big day today! i'm nervous!" honestly the whole "twitter"-thing to a beginner looks rather boring. but this lull is much like the firehouse!

the value of twitter comes from how people respond during life events! perfect example... a person is flying into LAX one afternoon, and they hear something about an earthquake that had just hit southern california. a quick google search would pull up articles written about earthquakes in the past. geological surveys looking to predict future quakes... and possibly even a little known rock'n roll cover band from PA who dress like the amish. but no reference to something that happened moments before you landed.

but if you were to go to search.twitter.com ... and search "earthquake" you would surely find a detailed conversation that's exploding with first-hand reports of that recent event. perfect example of how twitter is changing the game. twitter provides 'search' in real-time.

if you don't believe me... try watching a live awards show on tv while surfing twitter! it's like walking into a room filled with people talking about the show! how this band sounds horrible... or that dress looks like 'bubble-wrap'... or can you believe taylor swift just got "kanyed???!!"

plus i've found twitter reports news faster than most respected websites, tv and radio stations... and light years ahead of newspapers! check out @BreakingNews sometime. sorting through their recent list of tweets will put you on top of the day's news!

esentially twitter has introduced us all to a new concept... "live search." and whether or not twitter is the next google of facebook... live search has definately proven it's value, and is here to stay.