Why tweet?

I've noticed recently just how many tweets there are out there reflecting and commenting on Twitter itself. Or promoting blogposts. Or articles. In many ways it is just a loudspeaker-cum-chatroom.

Doubtless this is more a reflection on the industry in which I work, and therefore the kind of people/ brands I follow on Twitter.

I do believe that tweeters should work out what they want to use Twitter for. Is it personal? Is it professional? Can it be both? Once that's in the bag then away you go.

As for me, the lure has always been the personal. It's enormously good fun recording those small, pithy thoughts you have in dead time and catching glimpses of other people's. It's poetry. Haiku for the modern age.

Which is why Stephen Fry is such an admirable beacon for the service. He's like a drug. He compresses witty and interesting into a mere 140 characters every time and I find myself running to the pooter every morning just to check what he's up to. A large part of the appeal is also because you actually feel like you have a piece of Stephen Fry. It's so rare for a Celeb to be so generous with themselves and let 100k or so people (as it currently stands) into their life in such a frequent and intimate way. But I do wonder for how long he can keep it up, without beginning to feel that his adoring followers take on the quality of a swarm of piranhas feasting on prey.