What's a Twitter, Anyway?

I didn't understand, for a long time, what the big deal was with having a cell phone. I'd had one (the size of a telephone lineman's phone) in 1995 for a job. People had them in their cars back in the 80s; heck, we even used to call them "car phones." So, why was it suddenly such a strange thing if you didn't have a cell phone?

Well, after I finally took the plunge, I kind of got it. Now, I feel very strange indeed if I leave my cell phone behind. I still don't actually talk on it much, but am glad to have it in many circumstances. From checking on what The Other Half wants for dinner, to relaying important information when he's out of town, it is a great convenience and sometimes a necessity.

Blogging was another thing that took me a while to grasp. I mean, I'd been participating (or lurking) on bulletin board services (BBS), message boards (at Prodigy, and later, AOL), chat rooms (but not much), and the like. So why was everybody going on about blogs? Online diaries? Say what? Then, I started reading them, and eventually writing one. I get it now.

And I've already written about texting from the "don't get it" to the "I get it now" perspectives. But there is more to learn. Like Twitter. Everybody's atwitter about Twitter. And tweeting on it, apparently. Little bloglets, or some such. I'd hoped this would be a fad that went away, or that I could sample and decide I don't need, like FaceBook or MySpace. But everyone's doing it, so maybe it's time to move into the "I get it" camp, and check it out.

[Excerpt]

To tweet, or not to tweet?

That is the question. The answer? Who knows! In the meantime, anything goes on Twitter. . .

Read more at: ComputerWorld