Alex Massie Alex Massie

Twittering…

Being envious of friends in Washington who are twittering about what would seem to be a rather splendid lunar eclipse tonight I signed up to Twitter. Needless to say I have scarcely any idea as to how it is supposed to work or what it is for. The FAQ were not entirely encouraging:

But… what is the point? As it turns out, your best friend is probably interested in knowing if you’re “loving the new Radiohead album.” And yes, your Mom may want to know if you’re “skipping breakfast in favor of a latte.”  You might want to know if your significant other “feels like taking a roadtrip.” Find out what your friends are doing; keep each other abreast of your quotidian rituals.

None of this seems terribly likely. But, as ever, I am prepared to bow to the wisdom of the crowd. What is this Twitter you speak of and why should I speak of it too?

UPDATE: I had meant to say that I was initially enormously sceptical of, and resistant to, Facebook and subsequently somewhat chagrined to discover that I a) liked it heaps and b) found it useful.

Not as chagrined as my father mind you, who sheepishly admitted last year that, having been provided (by a newspaper*) with a computer last year he now realised that this internet and email thing is “rather fun”.

*Yeah, they became tired of receiving ill-typed faxed copy. I think my father is now – and I trust he will forgive me mentioning this – the last living, rregular contributor to the Telegraph’s books pages to have embraced this new technology.

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