twitter - it's a microblog

Do we really need another way to stay in touch? Well, maybe not. However, if a daughter, who is 2,000 miles away, gives us a way to be part of her life we'll participate.

Twitter (established in 2006) is considered to be a "microblog" with "social networking" implications. It's similar to a cell phone text message with a broader audience of friends and longer lifespan. In fact, the messages (also known as, "tweets") are often sent from a person's cell phone. The "tweets" often contain random information from a person's day - what's for lunch, events that are fun, events that are challenging, etc. The message is limited to 140 characters.

Some large companies, such as Microsoft, actively use twitter as a method for distributing information to targetted audiences. They often send a short title, followed by a link to a website with more information. I haven't really begun to dig into very many of these feeds, but I can understand why some people find them infectiously interesting. We'll see over the next few weeks if it continues to hold my interest; with additional trips to Washington D.C. already schedules, it could prove to be a neat way to share daily events with Anne.