| ign="center"> | | | | as such you can easily get in contact with, and |
| I think I have resisted talking about Twitter ( for long | | | | follow, a large number of people that may have |
| enough - up until now I have sidelined this popular | | | | viewpoints or lives that interest you. |
| social networking service as I never quite understood | | | | The remarkable thing about Twitter is the sheer |
| its value and considered it to just be a passing fad. | | | | popularity that it has amassed in its three year |
| That was until this week when I was listening to the | | | | lifespan. Twitter is now the 82nd most popular |
| Chris Moyles show on Radio One. Despite paying a | | | | website on the Internet with almost two million daily |
| yearly TV licence fee which is designed to promote | | | | visits. Part of the popularity of the service may well |
| independence within the BBC and remove the | | | | be the number of prominent users that the service |
| financial need for advertising, they flipped to an | | | | has attracted - For example, Stephen Fry has |
| advertisement for one of their own shows which | | | | 400,000 followers. |
| kind of missed the point, I felt. | | | | Messages can be posted directly via the Twitter site |
| The ridiculous voice of Tim Westwood followed; a 51 | | | | or via your mobile phone. Messages with up to 140 |
| year old Caucasian man who attempts to sound like | | | | charcters can be sent using the mobile phone option. |
| a 20 something year old living a black rapper lifestyle. | | | | Once broadcast those that are following you will see |
| He boomed in to the mic 'it's ya boy, Westwood', 'I'm | | | | your update on their own twitter homepage. |
| walking with the big dogs', 'I'm going to elevate my | | | | Another possible explanation to the popularity can |
| game' before completely contrasting the persona by | | | | probably be found by looking at the history the |
| dropping his Twitter user name in to the advert and | | | | service appears to be making. On December 2008 it |
| asking me to 'tweet' him. At this point I realised that | | | | was announced that Israel would be the first |
| perhaps the service was a little more established than | | | | government to hold a worldwide press conference |
| I realised and perhaps it would be around for a while. | | | | on Twitter to take questions from the public on the |
| So what exactly is Twitter? The service is so simple | | | | war against Hamas. During the November 2008 |
| that I think their own website sums it up best | | | | Mumbai siege the use of Twitter by victims, |
| 'Twitter is a service for friends, family, and | | | | bystanders and the public to gather news and |
| co'workers to communicate and stay connected | | | | coordinate responses lead to CNN calling it 'the day |
| through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to | | | | that social media appeared to come of age'. Twitter |
| one simple question: What are you doing?'. | | | | usage increased 43% on US Election Day. |
| You get a constant information feed that relates to | | | | The value placed on such a simple idea is also |
| what people are doing and what is on their mind. You | | | | staggering. Tens of millions have been ploughed in to |
| get this when signing up and when following other | | | | the service by venture capitalist firms and despite |
| users. You are able to follow anyone you wish and | | | | having no real discernable income several financial |
| likewise others are also free to follow your musings - | | | | reports value the company at $150 million. |