Twitter. Really, what is the point?

When I first heard about Twitter I thought it was quite simply the dumbest idea I have ever heard of. But after reading loads of people saying how much they love it, I decided to give it a try.

What I liked

The single best thing about Twitter is its simplicity. In fact, it is a lesson in simplicity. There is a minimum of details required to join Twitter. And then to use the service, you simply answer one question What are you doing?. I can not get much easier then that.

What I do not like

I mean really, what is the point! I just don't get it. For the average person, it serves no purpose. If you want to tell your friends what you are doing right now, you can simply update your status in Facebook. Or chat to them in MSN. Or, now here is a brilliant idea, talk to them in person or on the phone!

The second thing that I don't like about it is that it is thought to be the next big Web 2.0 idea. Please. This is about as Web 2.0 as my socks. It is not much more then a website version of MSN Messenger. Or even worse, its a bit like the old bulletin board style sites that I used at University in 1993.

What is it good for

I can actually see a purpose for it in some situations. If you are a merchant, then you can update your affiliates easily with Twitter rather then filling their inbox's with emails that they won't read.

It does tie in well with mobiles, so you can let people know your running late for a meeting, for example, by texting the Twitter service, which will then update your Twitter page.

If you are working on a collaborative project then it might come in handy. Lets say your a Drupal or Wordpress developer. If you are following and being followed by other developers, then it might make communicating about development issues a bit easier.

Will I keep using Twitter?

I will for a while. I'll see if I warm to it more. Maybe, just maybe, I'll end up loving it as much as some others do. Although I'll doubt it!