What I get out of Twitter

Okay, the Twitter backlash is starting to irritate me rather a lot. Way back when I first signed up, I didn't get it and I thought it was pointless. Then I started using it and now I'm hooked - and I'm not the only one.

But more and more people are signing up because of all the celebrities who use it - some properly, some not - and they don't understand how to use it. They then combine with all the skeptics and, for some reason, feel the need to slag it off. It's nothing new, of course. Some people, me included, are just miserable bastards.

Last night I was listening, against my better judgement, to BBC Radio 5 Live, and @richardpbacon's guest said what people always say when they don't use it, don't get it and assume, because they hear about it through the likes of Bacon and Tim Lovejoy, that it's about hearing what some half-celebrity had for lunch: "it's pointless".

If you use Twitter to starf*ck, it is pointless. But here's some of the stuff I get out of it:

• I can promote my blogs to a carefully grown list of followers. Some are interested in this blog, some in Clicking & Screaming and some in twofootedtackle. Others are interested in all, none or individual posts. Either way, Twitter has acted as a promotional tool and a targeted ping service
• Twitter has allowed me to tap into several social circles which I find fascinating and engaging, and were previously not accessible for whatever reason. The social media scene is relevant for work and has allowed me to exchange comment with people way above my level. I also regularly discuss football with other bloggers and with a core of fans from the USA. That doesn't happen offline
• I get interesting news in real time without having to go look for it. If you follow the right people (i.e. people with similar interests to your own), Twitter is a useful, convenient, relevant and lightning-fast source of news and commentary. You won't get that from half-celebs who don't know what the hell they're doing
• I've made some good contacts, both in my football world and my professional world. Bizarrely, lots of these contacts belong to other PR agencies. Twitter has helped us all to share more, respect each other more and made us a little less suspicious of each other. That can only be good for the industry
• It's fun. If you desperately tweet at celebrities or just read their banal crap, you'll get sod all out of your Twitter experience. Don't then turn on everyone who uses it properly - it's your fault

Rant over.

(Photo: Uniquities)