I have to confess to feeling a bit like a Twitter newbie, but some thoughts might be of use.
Twitter is excellent for sharing context at a distance. It gives you the gentle “This is what’s happening” you get if you all work in the same room, or live together.
As such it’s excellent at stitching companies together. We’ve got people in different locations, and I know that Twitter has increased the quality of our relationships in ways that Wikis, Blogs etc. haven’t.
Twitter is of course optional in our company and it’s interesting that those who have yet to come on board are beginning to feel a little out of the loop. At the moment it’s just a social thing but I wonder if those increased social ties will in time impact work as well – we shall see. Human beings don’t stop being social animals when they get to work.
In addition, Twitter increases my circle of context. Which enriches me. Sure there’s the Celebs but more interesting are the movers & shakers in the world who I would normally never get to hear anything from – now I get to see what’s interesting in their world. I can think of at least 2 very relevant things I’ve picked up in the past few days alone, which makes Twitter much more cost effective than any other “networking” event I’ve ever attended.
Is Twitter going to revolutionise the world as much as the breathless news articles claim? Of course not. Is it interesting? – definitely. Will I (and my company) continue to experiment and use it – indeed so.