JedFonner.com

Metcalfe’s Law states that the “value” of any network grows exponentially with the number of nodes in the network. In the case of Twitter, those nodes are people and the value is the benefit users on Twitter gain from reading and writing posts, aka “tweets”.

In my case, my Twitter network is small and thus it’s benefit is small. Nevertheless, I persevere. This post is a shoutout to all those people who I think would enjoy Twitter but have so far resisted the urge to join the network.

I think the main reason more people haven’t embraced Twitter is that the value is not apparent. Luckily here’s two short but great write-ups on the value of Twitter:

• 12 Reasons to Start Twittering
• Why to Twitter

But chances are if you’ve been unwilling to start Twittering, you may be unwilling to follow those links. So let me quickly list the most important points:

1. You can use it to stay connected to your friends and family. Most of us have friends all over the country and we don’t always get to talk/email as much as we’d like. Twitter makes it easy and fun to let people know what you’re up to and to see what your friends are up to.
2. You’ll get a lot more context about what your friends are doing. If you follow me on Twitter, for example, you’ll be privy to the random thoughts and observations I have during the day regarding what I’m doing and what is irking me. I’ve found since starting to Twitter that I think about what my friends are doing a lot more and obsess over my own life a little less.
3. It’s not restricted to just a computer. You can get updates from your friends via your text messages (not recommended unless you have an unlimited text plan), on any smart phone via the mobile site or a native app, or on your PC or browser. It’s kind of like the “Truman Show meets instant messaging.”
4. It may be a complete waste of time but it is free and fun and really takes very little effort. You can start just by joining and following others (aka subscribing to their feeds). Then if you like it, you can start posting yourself.
5. Following your family and friends is fun. And it is a lot more meaningful than watching reality TV since you actually care about the people you’re following. Plus sometimes even in just 140 characters people can be really funny.
6. Many people in the news media use Twitter to alert people of breaking news or newly posted stories on the web. I follow friends but also Tech newsmakers so I can keep up-to-speed with the latest and greatest things in the Tech world. But if Tech isn’t your thing, maybe politics (Obama and Hilary are both on Twitter).

Of course, the main purpose of me convincing you to get on Twitter is so I have more interesting tweets to read. But so far I have really enjoyed following the few people I currently have in my network and I think you will enjoy being a part of the Twitter network too.

If all that failed, how about this argument. Everyone else is doing it. If you really loved me you’d do it too.