Chatter matters

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Published: 12:00am, 6 Jul 2008

As its name suggests, Twitter (www.twitter.com) seems incredibly trivial. Essentially it is a social-networking and 'micro-blogging' service that lets users send brief text updates via SMS, instant messaging, the Twitter website or an application such as Windows Vista's Twadget.

Much of the tittle-tattle generated is on vacuous subjects such as washing the cat. Worse, Twitter has a stalker dimension. Consequently, the service has many detractors and has been mentioned in the hall of shame at SuckyStartups (www.suckystartups.com).

Yet Twitter's chirpy sounds matter for an avalanche of reasons. The gossip tool has a powerful citizen-journalism capability and has the knack of beating network news to the punch. Its 'thumb tribes' - users who adroitly tap messages on their mobile phones - recently broke the news of the Sichuan earthquake.

Twitter is also deployed by the likes of computer maker Dell, United States Democratic Party bigwig John Edwards, MTV, news organisations and fire departments to despatch urgent messages.

And there's more - far more than anyone could cram into Twitter's 140-character SMS message limit. Users have nurtured an awareness of issues such as the Myanmar situation, poaching in Africa, free speech and science.

Someone at US space agency NASA even leaked to Twitter that the Mars Lander had found ice on the red planet. 'Are you ready to celebrate?' the message opened, 'Well, get ready: We have ICE!!!!! Yes, ICE, *WATER ICE* on Mars! w00t!!! Best day ever!!'