Why do we tweet?

Why do we use Twitter? We send out 140 character messages for the world to read - they’re even shorter than SMS messages that we use on cellphones. Yet unlike Facebook, Twitter lacks so many features. People compare Twitter’s functionality to that of status updates on Facebook. And Facebook is built upon so many more features (profiles, walls, photos, chat, etc.). So why in the world do we tweet? #whydowetweet

Twitter is based on short spurts of words sent out by individuals to the general public. By default, every tweet shows up on the Twitter public timeline for anyone with Internet access to see. This approach to privacy sits in contrast to that of Facebook. Privacy is an opt-out option that you have to change in the settings if you want to control who sees your tweets. Even with such settings, Twitter has amassed over 190 million registered users who compose over 65 million tweets a day. #somanytweets 

So what is it about the idea of telling the world what you’re up to in 140 characters that attracts so much popularity? Personally, I have never been an avid Twitter user. In over two years with a Twitter account, I have only written a measly 55 tweets. Most of them are from traveling to new locations and going to concerts. I am not the type of person who puts every thought that pops into my head directly onto Twitter - but those people do exist. There are users who write whatever it is that they’re doing or thinking. Some people must feel the urge to alert the world to their every action or idea. But does anyone actually care about this superfluous data streaming across the Internet? #whocares

With my minimal amount of tweeting, I don’t frequent the Twitter website. When I’m bored, I instinctively go to Facebook. Only when I’m really bored and want to procrastinate do I go onto Twitter and consumer information. I don’t view Twitter as a source for relevant information. Do people spend their time reading through tweets? The trending topics feature of the website seems like a good idea to me - but who wants to read through the tweets of millions of Twitter users, many of which have nothing meaningful to say? I’d much rather go onto a reputable news site and read something that I can trust. #canwetrusttwitter

As Malcolm Gladwell discusses in his article in The New Yorker, Twitter builds a network of weak ties. Relationships in real life are based upon strong, personal connections, but social media allows for people to create a broad network of weaker, impersonal ties. Herein lies the strength of Twitter. You can follow people that you would never talk to you nor even know in the real world. From these connections, information can flow that wouldn’t in a world without Twitter. Without access to Twitter, I would never  know what Rainn Wilson was thinking. With Facebook, Rainn would have to accept my friend request for me to see his information, but Twitter’s one-way following lets people hear what others have to say without the need for a formal relationship. #stalkingallowed

I doubt that I will ever change my ways drastically and tweet more often. As Twitter grows as a service and as a company, it will have to adapt its ways. Google and Facebook continually update their sites and improve their services, and Twitter will undoubtedly have to do this, or perish. The question is: how will Twitter change to better suit its users? #onlytimewilltell