Two weeks with Twitter…

A little over two weeks ago, I succumbed and decided to see exactly what the deal with twitter was. It just didn’t seem like a wonderful tool – SMS for the web? Really? But, in the spirit of inquiry, I thought I’d give it ago. Now, a bit over two weeks later, I can say “I’m glad”.

The reason I started was that I wanted to be able to follow a few friends/colleagues/acquaintances of mine who were having interesting, if somewhat disjointed, conversations on twitter. That has proven to be interesting, but what’s really blowing me away is how companies are using twitter to provide customer service. The smarter companies and organisations are out there doing searches for keywords, and joining into conversations with relevant information. Case in point: only a few minutes ago, I was having an idle back-and-forth about WebKit, and I happened to mention that I wished there was firebug for safari. Next batch of tweets come in, and I’ve got a response from a guy who works on Safari and WebKit (presumably at Apple, though he didn’t say and his bio doesn’t confirm or deny) prompting me to look at the Web Inspector – it had been overhauled a lot in the latest major Safari update, and now looks to be a serious contender. Because of this guy’s advice, I’m going to spend the next week or so trying Safari instead of FireFox for my web development – enough time to get over the learning curve and seriously assess it.

In the two weeks I’ve been on Twitter, this sort of thing has happened three times. That’s three more interactions with companies who make products I use in a two week period than I normally have in a year. Amazing. Plus – so far: no spam.

Author: Robert Watkins

My name is Robert Watkins. I am a software developer and have been for over 20 years now. I currently work for people, but my opinions here are in no way endorsed by them (which is cool; their opinions aren’t endorsed by me either). My main professional interests are in Java development, using Agile methods, with a historical focus on building web based applications. I’m also a Mac-fan and love my iPhone, which I’m currently learning how to code for. I live and work in Brisbane, Australia, but I grew up in the Northern Territory, and still find Brisbane too cold (after 22 years here). I’m married, with two children and one cat. My politics are socialist in tendency, my religious affiliation is atheist (aka “none of the above”), my attitude is condescending and my moral standing is lying down. View all posts by Robert Watkins