Twitter – The beauty of 140 characters

I was shaking my head while reading the Straits Times article about twitter on 11 May 2009 (Page B7). Perhaps the reporter doesn’t understand the beauty of twitter. (Or perhaps twitter is threatening traditional media by the way it break news like Aware EGM)

The entire article was focusing on twitter’s 140 characters limit per tweet, saying that our life is more colourful, complicated and crazy to be contained in 140 characters. I agree that some stuff are impossible to be contained in 140 characters. Which is why I’m writing this on a blog entry instead of my twitter. You see, every tool out there serve a different need. Facebook is good for social networking. Youtube is good for video sharing. Plurk is good for discussion among friends. Blog is good for sharing of ideas. And twitter is good for quick updates.

Twitter is like those scrolling text at the bottom of the news channel which give you short snippets of the news. Its not for you to tell grandfather or grandmother story. That is for the newspaper. (And in new media’s context, blog) There is a reason behind the 140 characters limit. And being 140 characters doesn’t means that it is obsolete or useless. (Yes, I was laughing when someone being interviewed on RazorTV said Twitter is obsolete and useless because you can only key in a few words)

Many new twitter users outside USA, UK and India may not know that twitter used to send SMS to the user’s handphone when someone in their follow list post a new tweet. In fact, the SMS service was available worldwide until August 2008 when it withdrew that service. Currently, only US, UK and India enjoys the SMS service. I love the SMS feature a lot. It really keeps you updated even when you are offline.

You can still update your tweet by sending a SMS to a UK number. But that’s the expensive option. It’s much cheaper to use your data plan and update using your mobile phone web browser. And if you are using iPhone, there are TONS of apps for Twitter. My fave iPhone twitter apps is Twitterific. Twitter is very suitable for mobile phone.

And there are thousands of ways which you can access twitter on your computer. You can access via twitter website itself. Or twitterfall (my favorite way of following my friend’s twitter feeds) which automatically pushes new tweet onto your screen without the need for you to press the refresh button. Or if you like, you can download applications like tweetdeck or Seesmics desktop. If you want to add pictures to your tweet, you can try TwitPic. And there are countless other websites out there. One of the reason why twitter is so popular is because they open up their API and allows other developers to develope websites/applications that uses twitter. The makes twitter very extendable and useful.

And perhaps the best thing about twitter is that it is great at breaking news. In Jan 2009, US Airways Flight 1549 ditched in the Hudson River due to bird strike. The news was first broadcast on twitter, way before any reporters arrive the scene. The Australian Country Fire Authority used Twitter to send out regular alerts and updates regarding the 2009 Victorian bushfires. During the recent US presidential election, Barack Obama’s campaigners uses twitter to update supporters about activities from the Obama camp. After the election, some US Members of Congress twittered about Obama’s first speech to the Congress as President. I found out about the March 09 melbourne earthquake on twitter way before any news agency reported about it.

Or perhaps the most recent showcase of twitter’s usefulness in local context is during Aware EOGM. Traditional media reporters were barred from entering the hall but news about the EOGM was being broadcast via twitter by Aware members inside the hall. In fact, even if the traditional media weren’t barred from entering the hall, they won’t be able to broadcast the information as fast as the twitter-ers inside the hall who were constantly updating the world about the event as it happens. There were so many updates on the Aware EOGM that at one point, the hashtag, #awaresg, was ranked number one on twitter trend.

Many companies also uses twitter to engage and update their customers. Starbucks is brewing fresh updates on twitter. Locally, we have companies lie Starhub, Samsung and Lenovo (and many more) who are engaging their customers on twitter. HPB also have a twitter account posting updates of Influenza A H1N1 in Singapore.

There are a lot a lot of other things that twitter can do. You just have to join in and experience it for yourself. You can use twitter to quick update your friends while on the move. You can read the latest breaking news by following news agencies like CNN and BBC. Or a mashup of local news on SGnews. Major websites like Engadget, TechCrunch and Gizmodo also have a twitter account to inform their readers about a new article. Local websites like Tech65, Techgoondu and SGEntrepreneurs are also on twitter.

You can follow your favorite celebrities like Oprah Winfrey, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jamie Oliver, Ashton Kutcher and many more. Local celebrities like Cruz Teng, Joanne Peh, Irene Ang and Joe Augustin are also using twitter. (I know there are a lot more)

I even know a friend who uses twitter in Thailand to ask for bus guide and direction! That’s the power of twitter. And that’s not all. Everyday, we are discovering new ways to make twitter more useful.

Yes, twitter only restrict to 140 characters. But it is exactly this restriction that makes twitter such a wonderful tool. In fact, it has become an art to keep your update within 140 characters, yet be able to convey the message to your audience. Perhaps that is something that the Straits Times reporter will never understand. Well, at least her Online Editor understands. Straits Times is now on twitter too.

About the Author
DK has been twittering since November 2006 and have posted more than 3300 tweets, constantly updating his followers about his colourful, complicated and sometimes crazy life in less than 140 characters.

PS: There is a tweetup (Twitter meetup) this coming Thursday night, 7pm at Geek Terminal. Do join us if you are a twitter-er. This is the first ever tweetup in Singapore. See you there!