I use to consider myself a computer enthusiast. I don’t any more, nowadays I like to think of myself as a tech junkie. I love my gadgets… my TiVo, my iPhone, my Garmin, and my game consoles. I enjoy reading about new technology and gadgets, and the latest trends on the social networks. I really don’t care what video card or processor I have in my system, and I can swap any component out without much of a thought. It’s pretty strange, considering I’m an administrator for OverclockersClub.com, a large computer enthusiast community.
Today is Monday, and like always I created a new “weekly poll” in the OCC forums. This week’s poll came by request from Dave, the owner and operator of OCC. He wanted to know how many people on OCC used Twitter. I knew this was going to be a one way street, but I went ahead and posted it.
So far, there have been about 50 votes. A vast majority of them stating they do not use Twitter. I expected as much, as for some reason the community doesn’t seem to be that big social networking. Odd, considering OCC is basically a social network for geeks. 
Here are some of the responses that people have posted so far, which just indicate that people really don’t understand what Twitter is.
“don’t use twitter, nor do i update my status on facebook.
i don’t really want people to have a running log of my activities, nor do i presume they are important enough that people would care about them if i did.”
“facebook sometimes but twitter is like … 100% anonymous and with no real objective/purpose”
Those examples are pretty much echoed by every reply thus far. I’m still not sure how someone thinks the site is 100% anonymous. If I see a message from CelticaFLM, scurvypuppy, or BoscoOCC then I know it is Farrah, John, or Dave.
Is Twitter just about updating people on what you are doing? No. Sure, that may have been the original idea behind Twitter, but now it is so much more.
It’s kind of like a message board (like OCC), an IRC Channel (remember those?), Instant Messaging, and RSS feeds all rolled into one place. Sure, I can update my status to let the world (or just my friends) know that I am going to the bathroom. But it doesn’t have to be about what you are doing.
I use Twitter to stay on top of everything that is going on in the world. Like I said, I’m a tech junkie, remember. I can get the news from OCC, Mashable, Gizmodo, TUAW, Neowin, Engadget, CNN, FOXNews, and more all in one place. Those are great for reading about the latest tech, but what about when it comes time to buy the new toys? You can get discounts and coupons via Twitter as well such as AmazonDeals or DellOutlet, and then other times a company or manufacturer will provide promos and event contest via their Twitter account. The biggest one I’ve seen doing this is EAMobile who will give out free games to people that can respond to a question or retweet a message.
Even if you don’t want to let everyone know what you are doing, you can follow a lot of game developers, TV shows, actors, artists, and other celebrities to find out what is going on with the latest projects.
Need help? Twitter is a great place to get technical support and quick answers as well. Pretty much everyone will agree that calling phone support sucks, and it sucks even more if you are calling Comcast support. Give one of Comcast’s Twitter support people a yell at ComcastCares. Other companies also offer support via Twitter, and I’d expect to see more and more do it.
Need to make yourself a note for later? Twitter + Evernote allows you to quickly tweet a message and not have to change apps (or quit txting). There are other cool sites and services that can be used by simply sending a tweet.
Of course there is a political side to Twitter as well. Specifically when it comes to freedom of speech in countries like Iran or China that try to oppress it’s population and any negativity of the government.
So, what is Twitter? It’s a service that allows you to chat with friends, see what others are doing, get support or help, and just have normal every day discussions with millions of people. Who cares if you don’t know them? You aren’t going to make new friends only talking to the people you do know.
Twitter becomes even better thanks to the hundreds of apps available. Running a smartphone? There will be a dozen Twitter apps. Using a Mac or PC? Hundreds of apps. Even a simple cell phone can access Twitter via SMS.
On of my favorite reasons for Twitter is the 140 character limit per message. If real life had a limit like that, I would be so much happier when it comes to work and dealing with certain people. 