Of late, a lot of people have asked me about the quickly growing web service, twitter. If you’re wondering what the hell “twitter” is, you’re not alone. It is, according to its founders, “a real-time short messaging service that works over multiple networks and devices” that allows users to “follow the sources most relevant to them and access information as it happens—from breaking world news to updates from friends.” Think of twitter as “micro-blogging,” to use a popular neologism.
Twitter users “follow” other users with whom they share interests, everyone sharing livestreaming, 140-character “tweets” that ostensibly answer the service’s opening query, “What are you doing?” The answers range from, “Tuna sandwich for lunch. Again.” to providing breaking news and insightful observations. But don’t write off this new tool because of its limitless potential for mundanity or its cutesy parlance and adorable iconography. Twitter is what you make of it. It can be useless, but it can also be a fantastic way to keep a dialogue open with friends, peers, and clients.
While it’s always tempting to embrace new technologies for their marketing potential, the strength of twitter is its power as a communication medium. Imagine it as collection of asynchronous, time-delay conversations—the kind of conversations Ground Control might have with Major Tom. I’ve found twitter to be a terrific place to exchange ideas (and jokes) with architects whose work I enjoy, such as British architect Sam Jacob (@anothersam) and fellow architecture bloggers like Geoff Manaugh (@bldgblog). Twitter can be a place to develop and build on one another’s thoughts—an architectural hive-mind—or a way to build relationships with likeminded folk willing to share a few seconds of their attention each day.
Of course, most architecture magazines have their own twitter streams as well. A quick search will reveal many—their followers can get up-to-the minute news about competitions or newly announced projects. There’s even a twitter stream broadcasting industry related layoffs (@ archlayoff). How’s that for a sign of the times?
Versatility is a key element of twitter. Although it exists independently at twitter.com, it can also be integrated into your company’s website. A lot of firms haven’t updated their sites for years—an increasingly glaring faux pas these days and an inconvenience to potential clients or employees. Why not integrate twitter into your website as a quick and easy method of providing live updates about new projects or photos of construction progress? You might even open up a dialogue with other architects and consultants, or attract the attention of publications looking for exciting new projects.
So give twitter a chance. Although it might at first seem like a massive waste of time, treat it as ambient information and pay it as much attention as you like. Don’t like how someone else uses it? Simply unfollow. twitter’s potential is limited only by your ingenuity and a 140 character limit.
Author Jimmy Stamp is a freelance writer and designer currently enrolled in the M.E.D. program at the Yale School of Architecture. His work has appeared in numerous magazines and websites and he has been publishing the architecture blog Life Without Buildings since 2004.
Originally published 2nd quarter 2009, in arcCA 09.2, “Design for Aging.”
