One of the main buzz words on the Web for at least 6 months (probably more like a year) has been Twitter. Seems like everyone who is anyone, is using it. So of course I had to check it out. Before I did that though, I talked it over with a few friends and asked a simple question; “why would I use Twitter to read status updates if I can do that via Facebook?” I really did not get the point. Status updates? That’s all?

The main answer I got to my question was that Twitter is a simpler and more user friendly site than Facebook. No applications, no ads, no other annoyances that we find all too often on Facebook. After using Twitter for a few weeks now and admittedly becoming an addict, I can tell you that the answer I got is an accurate one, but that is not what makes Twitter so attractive. That is not what is going to take Facebook users away from Facebook.

So, if not that, then what? Why is Twitter so useful? Why has it become such a popular social networking tool? I am sure there are a lot of different explanations for this phenomenon, but to me, there is one major difference between the people you interact with on Facebook and on Twitter. Let me explain. Facebook is based on a “friend” system. Generally, your Facebook friends are people you know personally. Yes, I know everyone has people on their list that they do not know, but Facebook is geared toward adding your real life friends to your list.

Twitter, on the other hand, enables you to follow someone you do not know, have never met, and probably will never meet. You can follow their tweets if their life interests you. The thing is though, that does not mean they are going to follow you back. They are not your “friend” just because you are following them. Let me give you a few examples. I read Digg every day at least 10 times a day (in fact, some days I have a Digg tab open all day). Twitter enables you to add the Digg category you choose and get updated on popular stories in real time without opening your Web browser. I do not know who the individual behind this Digg account is, nor do I care. They are not following me because they do not care about my life updates, but that does not mean I cannot follow them.

Another example is Shaq. Yes, I follow Shaq (at least I am not following Britney), and contrary to the way Facebook works, this, from what I gather, is the real Shaq. I follow him, but I do not see him following me any time in the near future. So to sum up the main reason I love Twitter so much, there is no approving mechanism, you can pretty much follow anyone you want, unless of course they make their profile private (which, by the way, I do not get why anyone would want to do).

I am pretty new to Twitter and am learning new things every day, you would be surprised how complex status updates could be. Learning about DMs (direct messages),  retweets, desktop clients (using twhirl), and of course iPhone apps (I like TwitterFon).

I find myself using Twitter as a news source, since the news gets tweeted way before it is reported by the news websites. One more thing Twitter has helped me with, is getting over my Facebook addiction. Facebook? Na, so 2008!

-Hillel