Suddently everyone seems to be talking about Twitter and micro-blogging. Well not everyone but just the people you know or perhaps secretly admire. They seem to have abandoned MySpace and traditional social apps for the good old handheld phone and now you can barely get a word in between their incoming beeps. The issue is you're a Twitter noob and they're proud of being Twits. What can you do?

Let's look at a little Twitter history here. The service was founded by blogger Evan Williams and received a standing ovation at this years Southwest multimedia festival in Austin Tx. Since then the initial membership of around a hundred thousand people has simply exploded and some people are even mentioning it as the "killer app of 2007" and unlike most new trends, this service is being embraced heavily by the non techie crowd - people like your neighbor whose never blogged or shared a camera phone video. Suddenly he's a proud Twit and you're just left out in the cold.

It should be noted that Evan Williams is no newcomer to this scene. He helped create the original Blogger app while at Pyra Labs and has a long standing and personal relationship with SMS and texting in general. In fact the popularity of SMS'ing and its general acceptance as an established technology is the reason it forms the Twitter backbone. In a nutshell, Twitter allows you to text groups of people from a variety of sources and the results are displayed chronlogically on your web profile on the service site. As with all social networking apps, you have access level control but that's about it - no video, no high resolution photos, you can't even compose anything larger than 140 characters. So why is it so popular? Surely it's not because they call  themselves Twits!

 
Anita Hamilton at Time suggests in Why Everyone's Talking About Twitter that wth all the "pressure" of the established blogging and networking sites (in terms of managing your profile, editing content, updating constantly et ceteta) Twitter is just a great way to kill time. Furthermore the service has great appeal to twenty something who are tiring of MySpace and similar services. They want something different and right now Twitter seems to be it. It allows us to be connected without being overwhelming.

That fact in itself is what Lev Grossman discusses in his article titled Hyperconnected . Nothing new here, just Lev wanting to take a break for his PDA, cell phone, instant messaging clients and all the other chirps and beeps that according to him display not the behavior of "enlightened digital consumers but of addicts caught in an epidemic." He (any many others) only see this issue getting worse as mobile devices improve, free WIFi access continues to growth as does an industry desire for the killer device. Apples upcoming iPhone may bridge the gap somewhat with its unique interface and enhanced voice and data capabilities but that quest is not over yet. So says Lev, Twitter will continue to grow simply because like its peers it tries to create a sense of sharing experiences with the people you care about. And whether it's good or bad, right now it looks like the next big thing.

But will it last and how will it monetize itself? The SocialmediaClub thinks the service can do quite well if it continues to focus on personalization and keeps technical barriers to entry low so soccer moms can schedule meets as can students studying at Starbucks. They feel there is a basic communication need at this level that circumvents the mainstream heavies. If so, Twitter should be in good shape and with Twitterfacts   already identifying 4 basic types of users you know that there's a slot for you in that fold. Does this seem to be getting out of control or will it pass like all fads and phases?

So what should you do if your sweetheart happens to be a Twit and you're not? Join 'em I'd say because they may not accept you otherwise. Besides you've finally found a reason to keep that five year old cellphone humming and even you know how to text - right?

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