I was talking to someone the other day about Twitter and trying to find a simple explanation of what I personally got out of using it.
Not sure why but the London coffee house phenomena of the 17th to 19th Centuries sprung to mind. In those days this is where people ‘hung out’ to chat, pontificate, argue and in the words of some academics debate and start movements that were to change the world. It was also the place where news and information was exchanged in the days before newspapers existed.
Lloyds of London started as a coffee house business. John Cadbury supplied teas and coffees to London and other provincial city coffee houses before deciding to expand into chocolate. The rest is history and now seems to include a gorilla and Phil Collins!
Sheridan and other famous authors sketched out their ideas for plays and books. Pamphleteers and even scientists held court to present and refine their ideas. It became a social, intellectual and informational melting pot.
Back to Twitter. What do I use it for? I get to hang out with some really interesting people. I listen to their conversations and add my own opinion. I can even start a conversation and see who joins in. I get to mingle with 'cyberpals' and also people I know in 1st life. We exchange information, social chit-chat and I can ask questions of the Twitter community – and get quick responses. I find out about news and information sources. Things I may have missed through my other sources. Every few hours the ‘coffee crowd’ changes as the globe turns and different people wake up and take in their ‘coffee’. The constant threads of thoughts and conversation moving and changing during the day is amazing and great to be part of.
Just like a real coffee house I can drop back in at certain times of the day for another quick refreshing shot. I can quickly and simply pick up of the conversation threads as they are short and sweet. I also do not follow thousands of people as I want to listen and participate and maybe have a ‘one-on-one’ conversation with someone on a subject or other. Or arrange to meet up somewhere in 1st life. The conversation can be serious. It can can be humorous. You can get boring monologues from some people and others almost everything they say is emotional or intellectually stimulating. Sometimes both.
In other words if you haven’t realised by now…. a shot of Twitter has become part of my daily routine…
Here is what others are using Twitter for.
If you want to find out more about the London coffee house phenomena check out this resource. I did not know the Muslim origins of coffee until I read this.