To those who complain that Twitter is just a growing forum for navel-gazers with nothing significant to say, I offer this post from the Columbia Journalism Review: At the TimesOPEN conference it was easy to assume that the audience of Twitterers (Tweeters?) wasn’t paying attention, but what was really going on was a broader, more international version of the TimesOPEN conference itself. The conversation was opened up, more voices were let in, and the ideas being presented were discussed immediately and widely. The presentations turned into conversations. That is the real power of Twitter. It’s about sharing ideas, not sharing self-indulgent bon mots.
When I encounter people who summarily dismiss Twitter I usually know right away they’ve never actually used it. I, myself, felt fairly dismissive about the whole thing until I saw its usefulness in staying connected, sharing ideas and information, communicating quickly, and having communal discussions into which anyone with something to say can jump. Those who write off any kind of communication media without ever trying it for themselves, well, they are usually the ones missing out in the end.