I have no interest in regular updates on what my friends are doing (I'm quite content with them telling me the interesting things when I actually see them). I also have no interest in giving anyone regular updates on what I'm doing (again, I'd rather just tell them if it's interesting enough).
Some of the thoughts you have are worth communicating quickly and cheaply, but not really worth carrying in your head for days until you meet the right person to discuss them with. Twitter allows you to broadcast these thoughts quickly and effortlessly, and get some feedback on them.
I could use it for asking questions, but why would anyone see or answer them? Wouldn't I get a better response by actually directly emailing people or lists where someone might know (or even asking people face to face, as low tech as that may be).
It really depends on the question... in some cases, you'll get a much quicker, better answer via Twitter. In others, you won't.
I think that's where we differ. I don't want to broadcast my thoughts like that, they'd be undeveloped and uninteresting. I'd far rather keep them in my head until they grow into something I think worth sharing. And when that happens twitter doesn't seem like the place I'd want to share them.
I'm still trying to keep an open mind here though, maybe there's something about twitter that I just don't get.
Well, as I suggested in my OP, give it a try for 2 weeks... follow at least 20-30 people that you find interesting (and who don't have billions of followers, so they'll follow you back), and try tweeting once or twice a day. Do that for a couple of weeks, then make up your mind about it.
2 weeks seems like a lot of effort to waste on something without good reason. Maybe there is some sort of magical thing that you only get after using it but it doesn't seem likely to me. I'll try and keep an open mind though, maybe I'll see something that will convince me otherwise.
Some of the thoughts you have are worth communicating quickly and cheaply, but not really worth carrying in your head for days until you meet the right person to discuss them with. Twitter allows you to broadcast these thoughts quickly and effortlessly, and get some feedback on them.
I could use it for asking questions, but why would anyone see or answer them? Wouldn't I get a better response by actually directly emailing people or lists where someone might know (or even asking people face to face, as low tech as that may be).
It really depends on the question... in some cases, you'll get a much quicker, better answer via Twitter. In others, you won't.