Because two people made quizzical remarks about using Twitter immediately after I cross-posted to Twitter and Facebook from Tweetdeck:
Twitter isn’t for everyone. I originally scoffed at the service and its name, and then I began using it to track conversations and buzz among tech luminaries. After adoption skyrocketed I found myself engaging in conversations with friends on Twitter as well, and that’s how I use it today.
Twitter has some distinct characteristics that magnetize certain people and repel others. It is a sort of hybrid between email and instant messaging, specifically the style that became popular with AOL instant messenger featuring rapid bursts of short text, versus the longer, more thoughtfully edited style we used in the early days of ICQ.
So, with its limited character-count, it features burst messages bereft of dressing and decoration, making people stick to the point and say what needs to be said. As a programmer, this is the most natural style of communication for me and I enjoy it greatly.
It’s a socially level medium. One person does not facilitate or mediate conversations, and anyone is free to join or leave a thread of conversation at any time.
Twitter does not abuse the term “friend”. You follow other Twitter users, and they can choose to follow you or not. There is no implied friendship and it is not compulsorily bi-directional. I can’t expect Jeff Atwood to accept my assertion of friendship on Facebook, but it’s no bother to anyone if I follow him on Twitter.
Those are a few of the big reasons why I feel Twitter is so agreeable with me. Others may have dissenting views on the same features or find other aspects of the service outweigh those they do find positive, but for me, it’s a fine thing and I’m happy it’s there.