Sometimes You Have to Retreat, A Little

In a previous posts I went off on how Twitter was a total waste of time.

I still feel that way, personally.

But for the last couple of weeks I've been giving it a try as a way to be "in the know" about social networking and the latest buzz.

I started out much the same way GetItDoneGuy did and followed the same pattern: rekindling old friendships, following those who post good content, then following a few celebrities.

It didn't take long to unfollow celebrities (or celebrities' PR people really), except those that appear more authentic (love Ann Curry...breaking news, a few personal tweets).

I definitely don't follow all who are following me. Who are you anway?

I also happen to agree with copyblogger about the challenge to my writing and editing skills, composing and recomposing a 140 character tweet to convey as much meaning in as few words as possible.

As haiku is to poetry.

I've learned a bit from Jakob Nielsen about adding more punch, though I don't do formal iterations. Just informal ones in my head. See his tips on what's good, what's bad and when to Tweet.

I definitely recommend front-loading, which is a technique I learned from Mark Hurst in his book Bit Literacy, regarding e-mail subject lines and the first paragraph in the e-mail. State your purpose and call to action immediately.

Still, plenty of evidence that Twitter will fade as a fad, though:
Why Teens Don't Tweet
Facebook Exodus (can Twitter be far behind?)

But not just yet...Why Adults Have Fed Twitter's Growth

Until then, follow me: ellenking (at least for a little while longer)