So I have been on twitter, pownce and jaiku for a while now and I have to say that for the most part, twitter seems to be the microblogging tool of choice for me.
While Jaiku is way cool, there is no critical mass of "friends" using it, therefore it gets sorely neglected.
Pownce has the critical mass of friends as members, but they seem to prefer twitter as well, so my Pownce stream is a very eclectic mix of unknowns. Also, Powncers seem to like to fileshare more but frankly, I just haven't been able to get into powncing. As well, I've heard the powncers complain that twitterers (twitter users) are too "unfriendly" but I'm not sure that's the case at all. Maybe we're just a little more self-absorbed ;) Don't get me wrong though - I'm certainly not slamming pownce at all, but rather my preference is with twitter at this time where the critical mass of "friends" or others I want to follow are happily tweeting away. I think what it basically comes down to is that twitter does one thing and does it well. It's simple and it's easy.
I confess I like the continuous stream-of-consciousness feed of tweets from those that I follow and yes, there are random gems in there which make me literally laugh out loud, and yes, I have been pointed to interesting articles and apps on occasion. I don't find it pointless at all, it's rather more like the background chatter of a large office setting - but it's an office that spans the globe. It's very cool to watch as people are tweeting about heading to bed, or to lunch, or home after work, within minutes of each other, while we in North America are just starting to wake up and come online. Soon you find yourself falling into the rhythm of worklife routines around the world. It really brings the global community into perspective. I beg to differ with those who complain that twitter is pointless,asinine. It's also very interesting to follow the tweets of conference goers who are summarizing the panels they are attending - it's like virtually being there and so much useful information is sent around!
As well, I've linked twitter with my Remember the Milk account and can easily use it to update my task lists / reminders. Very handy! By linking the two, I can text a direct twitter message to my rtm "friend" which then gets posted to my rtm account. Nice. Easy. Useful.
It's a great way to keep in touch, keep in the loop, and yes, even increase productivity. But don't take my word for it - try it for yourself and make up your own mind.
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Learn more about twitter here: Big Juicy Twitter Guide
