I'm not entirely sure why I feel like such a tosser when most twenty somethings seem to own both of these social tools. I guess the question that plays on my mind though, is whether Twitter is actually a tool or does it simply just make you one?
The main criticism that Twitter faces is the fact that it is based on the assumption that people actually care what you are up to. What movie you're about to see, what baking you've just put in the oven, hell even such benign topics as laundry are acceptable in a tweet (I may have tweeted about doing three loads yesterday).
Now this is all well and good for people like Charlie Sheen who could go to the dairy for milk and still leave a truckload of scandal and psychotic outbursts in his wake. For your average joe however, the everyday comings and goings aren't so intriguing and yet, we still tweet. To be honest I thought you had to be 'someone' in order to get a Twitter account but it turns out that unlike MySpace you can get away with it even if you're not a celeb or rockstar.
The cool thing about Twitter is that even us ordinary folk can message the biggest names in the world. Whether they reply is another matter entirely but it's still pretty amazing that if you feel like it, you can tell Britney just what you thought of that outfit she wore on Letterman.
The reason why I started Tweeting though had nothing to do with this ability to have (often one sided) conversations with big stars. No, this blog is in fact the reason behind my account. Tom brought it to my attention as a way to create more of a following- yes he is slowly but surely dragging me into the 21st century. Unfortunately I haven't accumulated the largest fanbase, but like the Mainland cheese dudes say, good things take time...
It's actually become so dire that in the wee smalls of a Sunday morning I have been caught shamelessly attempting to rustle up followers out of people that I have just met. To be fair this happened just the once and I wasn't really thinking straight at the time but still, looking back, I officially surrendered whatever coolness I had in that single moment.
Best not to dwell on one's social blunders though. I also want to talk about what Twitter has done for Facebook. I've only really noticed it since opening my account, that tweeting has elevated the quality of Facebook status updates. Tweets are literally a statement of what you're doing, whereas Facebook status updates are less frequent and generally more thought provoking observations (all except for that token FB friend that posts on the hour).
I'm sure we've all posted a status and then scrutinised it for a minute or two wondering if it's witty enough to generate any likes or comments before removing it and rewording. The worst bit is when it you accidentally post both so the effort and thought behind said status is revealed to everyone, making you look like a right twat. With Twitter though, there's less pressure to be clever. You just tell it like it is.
I suppose the reasoning behind tweeting about what you are doing is just the same as posting photos on your Facebook. You're essentially letting people know that yes, you do have a life and look how much fun it is, aren't you jealous?!
No wonder Twitter is such a hit with us twenty somethings because it provides us with a socially acceptable way to boast about our social lives. And lets face it, twenty somethings are most competitive when it comes to being out and about. Sure we compete in other arenas- who has the best job or relationship for example, but the real competition is who has the most fun. To be honest this is a competition that I'm more than happy to compete in...even if only a handful of people will appreciate my efforts.
So have you jumped on board the Twitter train? If so you're welcome to follow me @Amanda_Bidwell (I promise to limit the amount of laundry related tweets).
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