Twitter: The 140 Characters that Could

While most people have at least heard about Twitter now that Oprah has jumped on the bandwagon, I still get asked why I do it so much (less as of late, but I’m on an upswing), and how I’m able to tweet and work (Really? Really?); some folks still don’t get it. The folks that do get it - like Naked Pizza - are pushing full steam ahead, and leaving the others behind. Check this out:

“So, Naked Pizza erects a Twitter billboard; so what? What’s the big deal?” Where to start… Where else can you establish a direct, sans middle-man, one-to-one relationship with your opt-in customers, in real time, for free (at least for now)? How many other sites garner this level of ingenuity, dedication, and love from techs to stars? There must be something to this Twitter thing, right?

Have you tried Twitter? Do you not get it, but haven’t asked for help from those who do? What will you say to a client, or industry peer, or the media who asks you about it, if you use it, what its value is, and what we’re doing with it?

If you’re one of those folks that still thinks Twitter is just about people telling each other what they ate for lunch, wake up or you’re going to be left behind. I urge you to take a deeper look at it with a fresh perspective. Yes, you’ll still find disposable discussions, meaningless quips, and and pointless posts, but there are also real discussions being held 140 characters at a time; it’s where the conversation is happening. Maybe not tomorrow, but definitely today.

Does anyone else see the shape of the future in the real-time search platforms being built on top of Twitter’s real-time conversation engine? Does anyone else see URL shortening sites like bit.ly (et. al.) rising in number and popularity all of a sudden due to Twitter? Does anyone else see the sheer number of new sites and applications springing up all over the place due to Twitter’s robust and flexible API?

I talk a lot about Twitter, but really, it’s just a name… a label for a rapidly growing conversation, direct-engagement, real-time, instant search, cross-channel communication monster.