May 28, 2009
My Internet technology-challenged husband asked me the other day what 'twitter' means.
He was confused because the last time he used the word it meant the high-pitched sounds of birds, he recollected.
Now, he says everyone everywhere talks about twittering. On television, on the radio, and in conversation, and he doesn't think they are talking about any Tweety Birds.
Yes, I agree. Twitter certainly used to mean a series of bird chirps, sometimes called chirrups. But today, according to common vernacular, if one engages in twittering the correct verb form becomes 'to tweet'. The message you send, a noun, is, therefore, a 'tweet'.
I tried to explain.
Twitter is a trendy, 'hot' social networking and blogging service that allows you to stay in touch with your friends, known as followers. The format is short, thus providing quick information and some relief from exhaustingly long emails. Simply answer the question "What are you doing" in 140 characters or less.
As you read the tweets, you will find out what your old high school classmate is having for breakfast, where your nephew is located right now this minute as he treks across Europe, or if your grandson got to pitch at a Little League game out-of-town.
One can tweet from your mobile phone. One can also send tweets through IMs (instant messaging), through SMS (short message service a.k.a. text messaging), directly from the Twitter website, or through third-party application tools such as Snitter that bring Twitter right to your desktop.
Near as I can tell, Twitter is not making money at its hip social networking idea. Not yet, that is, but they are about to if they take Twitter to the tube. From my Internet research, I learned that a television show might be in the works, another unscripted reality TV show that might make the creators a boatload of cash. Contestants on the show would track celebrities through each star's 140-character tweets.
Intriguing, but please don't tell me they will name this show, "Twittering with the Stars."
Confession. I am not twittering, or is it tweeting, yet. Whatever. I probably couldn't say anything in 140 characters if I tried, but I might become a follower.
Plenty of people are asking the world to follow them on Twitter. Businesses, politicians, movie stars, rock bands, and television stations.
"But how can one possibly follow all these people and keep up with their daily lives or their latest product," I wondered out loud.
"The idea of tweets is tempting though," I continued to mumble out loud.
Apparently, it is appealing to my husband, too, because he just responded, "Tweets? Did you say treats? Have we got anything 'tweet' around this house?"
I shot back quicker than a duck on a June bug, "Just some candy, and it sure is 'tweet'.
Oh my, I have a feeling this conversation is twittering badly into pundom.
Maybe I will just twitter about it after all. To twitter or not to twitter (or is it tweet), that is indeed the question.
