As I learn, experiment and interact with the twitter world I have noticed several things:
- Interacting with the twitter users is like a never-ending first day of high-school. You are always scanning the crowds and trying to analyze the various cliques and finding where you fit in.
- the etiquette is evolving and varies. This is subtle but obvious after a week of using twitter. Like a cocktail party one should be open, helpful and positive before interacting directly. I still have not figured out the customs for following and reciprocating a follow. Is there one?
- the culture is “strong”. Maybe a better word would be active.
A quick search of Google shows lots of interest in understanding the twitterverse but this one caught my eye and is worth following:
blogcritics.org
I think it begins with the community. Unlike blogs or social networking sites, Twitter seems real. I know intimate details about people on Twitter that I’d never know from reading their blogs. I’ve met their girlfriends on Twitter. I’ve chatted with people about their feelings over the Chinese Olympics. I’ve suggested a method to get baby snot off a Palm Treo. In other words, it’s a lot like what I do in real life. Conversation is about give and take. You talk, I respond, you listen, you respond, etc. Twitter does that on a massive scale. It’s possible to track a hundred conversations or more. There’s a sense of fellowship on Twitter. This isn’t like a chat room, where there’s a group conversation.
