Is Twitter AOL Chat Redux?

Apr
08
2009

Is Twitter AOL Chat Redux?

As most of you know, I work in the IT industry. My colleagues range from Sr. Developers to very good hardware techs.

I use twitter on either my personal laptop and/or my iTouch at work (I DO NOT use it on the company’s PC) and so our team sees me and one of our wiring guys tweeting and we tell them about the interesting/funny things we read.

So one of our techs asked yesterday “Isn’t twitter just AOL chat for the 21st century?” which of course is what this post tries to answer.

In trying to answer, I first need to define what “chat” (or internet chat actually) is.

Internet chat is a pretty straight forward. Like it sounds it’s talking in real time using an application. It’s talking to someone right now as opposed to e-mail which is delayed by when the recipient is able to read and reply.

Chat is also different from voice applications like, say, Skype where you’re now talking like you would on your phone. That makes the conversation a true voice conversation.

So what the heck is twitter and where does it fit in all this?

Simply twitter is exactly like it’s acronym (didn’t know it was an acronym did ya?): Typing What I’m Thinking To Everyone Reading.

It’s micro-blogging.

With most blogs, if the blogger talks about going to the grocery store, getting a latte, or buying shoes, who would read it?

So…what the #@$%! is Micro-Blogging?!?

Micro-blogging is mainly quick updates that contain a specific number of characters. It’s a popular component of social sites like Facebook where you can update your status.

So…micro-blogging is for those who want to blog but don’t have time, patience, a website, etc. to blog.

This is where twitter fits in. It’s a great way to let everryone know what you’re up to without spending a lot of time writing an detailed post on a blog.

OK, so now that we’ve pretty much gone around the mulberry bush, it’s time to answer the question. Is twitter just AOL chat for the 21st century?

No…not really.

Twitter is lots of things to lots of people. It’s a way to keep in touch, for a company to promote business, the celebrity to keep fans informed or to build up a fan base.

Twitter is a social messaging tool. It’s a marketing tool, business tool, news reporting service and personal updater.

UPDATE: 4/8/09 22:47

While you CAN use it for chat, it was never really designed to be a chat tool and is severely limited for any real time conversations.

WHEW! NOW I hope I answered the question!

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