Thing #31 -- More Twitter

Keeping up with news and finding things out quickly is what I've ended up using Twitter the most for. It was via the #cil2009 hashtag on Twitter that I discovered the Computers in Libraries day 2 keynote was being streamed live and was able to watch it. Tweets from MPR were how I found out about several developments in the Coleman-Franken recount trial shortly after they happened. And a chance viewing of trending topics is how I discovered that Skype (finally!) was releasing a native app for the iPhone/iPod Touch the following day.

I use a variety of Twitter methods. I don't use the Twitter web site very often--it's slow to load and doesn't always draw the screen formatted properly. I tried both TwitterFon and Twitterrific on my iPod Touch, and preferred TwitterFon. It's the main way I read tweets, but I don't post that way very often, preferring a full keyboard to the mini on-screen one. I also installed TwitterGadget on my iGoogle page, which I use primarily for sending my tweets. These 2 applications meet my needs, so I haven't explored a desktop Twitter client. The only one I considered was TweetDeck, primarily for it's ability to update my Facebook status with my tweets and vice versa. (I discovered this feature from a friend I follow, who mentioned it in a tweet.)

To be honest, I use Twitter more than I thought I would. I'm probably somewhere between the Dumping and Conversing stages. Since I don't have many followers, I often feel my tweets are just a one-sided conversation into the ether, but I have had a few actual conversations. And most of what I follow I do for news or entertainment--I haven't felt the need to reply to anything I've read. Perhaps more interaction will come if I stick with it.