Sometimes it takes an emerging technology a real world event to codify (dare I say legitimize?) itself to the first concentric circle past the uber-alpha-geeks. The use of camera phones and self-organizing info dissemination during the London train bombings, for example, is often cited as a “Wisdom of Crowds” moment in mobile media sharing.
For Twitter, an “everywhere messaging” app on web and phones, that seems to be Twitter’s real proving ground at the SXSW Conference this week. Thought to be fair the first time I heard of it’s usefulness to a group was the pretty funny Twitter channel at 3GSM Conference in Barcelona, mostly related on where to get free conference food… or where the best afterparties were.
One By One Media suggests Twitter is the new Flickr:
Suddenly a global back-channel of communication has appeared. Conversations flying around from all corners. At SXSW, Twitter is so hot Jim tells me it’s flashed up on screen. The way to self-organize and connect.
Ross remarks that Twitter has “tipped the tuna” (hmm Twitter tuna sushi … ), Jeremiah remarks that while he eschews IM now, he’s liking and into Twitter. Even more interesting is Andy Carvin’s idea, that I agree with, that Twitter over SMS could have real potential in an emergency.
Interesting observations and links about how social applications often start out their lives as something different, and the unintended consequences are how people end up tweaking them for their own use. Until I get time to recontextualize all this input, these I’ve found some interesting reads below.
The Several Habits of Wildly Successful Twitter Users, with this great disclaimer:
One last note: if you’ve never used instant messaging before, this may change your mind. It may also be the last straw that convinces you to become Amish. You’ve been warned.
[...] Also, various mashups of Twitter search results, RSS feeds and jedi tricks with stuff like Yahoo Pipes can result in some very interesting customized info streams. Check out Christopher S. Penn’s post on Twitter Power Tips.
Beyond IM: Welcome to the EM era by Chris Heuer at Social Media Club:
Instant Messaging (IM) is not dead or even dying, but EM is about to change everything. While IM emphasizes the immediacy of the communication, EM can represent the value of the communication. Then again, like any communications channel, what gets transmitted can also be pure drivel. EM, however, has tremendous potential for solving some of the biggest problems I face on a daily basis, and have been thinking about for over a decade, most especially the idea of annotating the world around us and sharing key insytes about what is happening and what I see as the important matters of the day.
What is EM? EM is “Everywhere Messaging” – in particular, Text-Web-IM-Blog/Site. Some may think the distinctions I am going to make are not important enough to consider it a separate category, but as we explore this topic further, it will become apparent that EM is game changing.
A Twitter Top 10 has some cool uses, tips for using in a group and useful honorable mentions too.
And no emerging trend would be complete without a sharp and proper roast, which can be found here as excellent counterpoint to a mass lemming march right off the cliff: Much a-twitter about nothing?
What are the best uses you’ve found? Even small team workgroups with geographically distributed members has potential, at least in my world. The mobile notifications were too much for me to handle regularly, but a twitter channel (easy to set up and focused on groups or events) could be a great way to get into the slipstream of valuable tips. The character limit is part of it’s user experience charm, forcing both sender and receiver to just get to the point.RIP
The simplicity of the un-blog factor is part of what makes the user experience so simple and fun, no comments, trackbacks, images… it’s so crude it’s forced simplicity, for better AND worse. To be continued, hacked, and mis-appropriated all around…
Update: An obituary already! Funny – RIP Twitter (2007-2007). Like I said it’s where new “everywhere messaging” usage patterns, loves and annoyances will take us in 6-12 months, not just this tiny sliver of time with one app. For obsessive self-expressers, if it’s not Twitter will be the next thing that follows… and follows…
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