MAY 13, 2009

Tweets In Space!

I admit it - I was a Twitter skeptic.

I originally thought the service was nothing more than a paean to digital narcissism. People could use it to broadcast their every thought, no matter how pointless, to the entire twittersphere, and by extension, the Internet.

But then I started paying more attention to it. The first time I realized it might have a purpose was just over a year ago, when American journalism student James Karl Buck used the service from his phone to let his followers know that he had been arrested in Egypt for filming a protest, leading to an organized response to secure his release.

As time went on, I began to see what it could really be used for. Rather than e-mailing links to friends, a Twitter user could post a quick summary and shortened URL to their entire network - and even use the Twitter app to update their Facebook status, reaching a potentially different audience in one fell swoop.

Suddenly, I began to believe that Twitter was a power platform for information sharing. It could eliminate lots of useless blogging and commentary. Let’s face it - any blogger knows that there are plenty of stories they see that they have no inclination to turn into a post. And too much link-dumping on a blog is boring to readers, who visit because they’re looking for unique content, not a list of outgoing one-offs.

Once I figured out the possibilities, Twitter changed my entire pattern of consuming (and sharing) information.  I now get 90% of my news through Twitter updates. I keep tabs on friend, and what they’re reading/watching/paying attention to, giving me instant access to - if I choose who I follow carefully - trustworthy gatekeepers.  With the Twitter app for my PDA, I now have access to news and information from anywhere that before would have required my visiting any number of sites not optimized for mobile web, meaning I’d often give up before I got anywhere. (As my wife will no doubt tell you, I now rely on this access entirely too much. )

In a twist I found pretty cool, NASA astronaut Mike Massimino, a mission specialist for the current Atlantis mission to repair the Hubble Telescope, decided to become the first man to Tweet from space. So far, he hasn’t been prolific, but the idea of shortening the distance between the final frontier and my phone through a common social media platform is one of those landmark moments in communication that’s almost easy to take for granted. 

Maybe it’s because I always wanted to be an astronaut as a kid, but I just can’t help geeking out a little bit when I imagine Massimo floating around the space shuttle, typing in the words, “From orbit: Getting more accustomed to living in space today and getting ready for our big rendezvous with hubble,” and having that information delivered to me immediately.

Considering the real-time component, in a way, it’s the next best thing to being there.