Twitter ... Really?

So Rob has been sucked into the tweeting world. Apparently facebook, myspace, blog, email, just wasn't quite enough to keep him busy. It is pretty funny to sit and just listen to him and his twitter friends discuss... A few days ago I sat on the couch while @_rob_wilson got a Twit-torial from @LindseyIngram - they discussed all of the twitter lingo - and there is a lot! I have done some research so that I can speak in his language at the dinner table - see below:

• DT (direct tweet):
  A private (direct) tweet. Direct tweets do not appear in the public timeline.
• Follower:
  Someone who sees your tweets in their TweetStream. Following is, generally, not a reciprocal arrangement like it is with Facebook or LinkedIn.
  
• RT or Retweet:
  Analogous to forwarding an email; re-sending a tweet sent by someone else. Courtesy: include the @username of the person who authored the tweet. Remove multiple instances of “RT” (ie, edit!). Consider revising in your own words and then crediting the sender with via @username.
• Tweet:
  A 140-character message sent to Twitter via phone, the web, or a third-party applications. Tweet are public and can be read on the public TwitterStream with two exceptions: (1) direct tweets and (2) protected tweets.
• TweetUp:
  A real-world meeting of people who have connected via Twitter.
• TwitterStream:
  A collection of tweets; usually refers to the stream of tweets sent by everyone that you follow but may refer to the public timeline of all tweets.
• Twitterati:
  Celebrity and a-list Twits (or Tweeple or Tweeters)

Not gonna lie - it seems pretty ridiculous, and I am not bashing the tweeters out there, because just like everything else, I am sure I will be sucked in and updating all my tweets within the next few months. But you do have to admit it is kind of funny to think/assume that there are people who are sitting and waiting for you to change your 'tweet' or status so that they can be your 'follower' or maybe they hope to 'TweetUp' later in the week. I guess it is pretty similar to blogging - more like blogging for the vain - just kidding @_rob_wilson - you know I love you.

I will say, it does seem to keep everyone in the loop. For example, this morning I was talking with my mom and she asked how my Sunday afternoon was. I told her it was a pretty normal lazy Sunday... She quickly asked me how my Bahama Bucks tasted... Thanks to Rob and the twit pic he uploaded, she knew everything down to the size and flavor that I got...

All of you TwitterBugs out there, please take no offense - I am sure I will be signed on and obsessed with Twitter very soon. In the meantime, if you are dying to follow Rob and see what he is doing and thinking at all times, by all means, follow him @_rob_wilson.