What twitter did for me.

There's been a few hash tags about this on twitter over the last few weeks with people saying in 140 characters what twitter has done for them. I didn't think that 140 would really be enough for me though so I thought a blog post might be better.

I think the thing that twitter has done for me primarily is got me talking to people that I would never have usually got the opportunity to chat with. It has, quite literally, opened up my world.

I'm chatting to artists, musicians, cartoonists, burlesque dancers, writers, husky owners, fellow gamers, Americans, stay at home mums, fellow bloggers, and many many more.

Of course there's some old friends in the mix too. Without having at least a few people on twitter that you know the whole thing would be a lot harder to start with. But if you don't tweet yet don't let that put you off, there's a wealth of people happy to chat about anything you like.

So what have all these people done for me?

• Well so far it's mainly them that have donated to the Tweetathon. Yep, people I've never met.
• I've had my eyes opened to 'Street Art'. And I like it.
• They play me at COD4.
• They introduce me to new music.
• They support and get involved in the blog more than anyone else does.
• They point me at films I might like.
• They make me laugh.
• I'm back in contact with people from when I was a kid.
• I get to see some crazy internet stuff because they point me at great links.
• The Ledgers have become a bit of a thing on twitter because the guys from twitter are interested in us. (God knows why, but it's cool that they are.)

Are there down sides?

It is crazily addictive talking to a group of people you've never met. But as someone that lives on their own it is incredibly nice to wake up and say 'good morning' and know that people will say 'hi' and 'good morning' back. But it is a time eater. Be warned. Get involved and you'll love it but get really involved and it's hard to step away in case you miss something.

It's what ever you want it to be, which is why it's been so successful and why I find it hard to believe it won't continue to grow. I think the thing that appeals to me the most is that as a business model it hardly makes any sense at all. It's been described as being doomed to failure because of that but it's precisely for that reason that we all love it. Sure there's some hippy ethic in there somewhere that appeals but it does feel very cool to be here at the relatively early stages of something that is revolutionising peoples internet experience. It has changed mine beyond measure.

Thanks to everyone who's donated so far to the tweetathon, £70 raised now. Another £30 and I'll stay up for 36 hours on twitter and another £80 and it'll be 48 hours, but honestly it will not be a chore.

Oh and if you want to find out what I'll do if I raise a grand you have to come ask me on twitter. There is now a plan. 8)