6 Ways the Average Person Can Use Twitter Without Feeling Like a Loser

Twitter is annoying. There, I said it.

I’m not going to pretend that all the benefits of using Twitter are really apparent to everyone. From the outside, it looks like an incredible time-waster, and completely useless to everyone. Just another stupid Internet fad.

But to those of us who have gotten familiar with Twitter, we see its power and potential. Not only that, there’s an entertainment value to Twitter as well. I started out hating Twitter. I never saw the use, and I swore I would never use it. Then, as I started to build a buzz for this site, I needed an outlet to start promoting it. I started a Twitter account just so I could connect with other bloggers and build relationships. It’s certainly done that, but now it has done so much more. I have a desktop Twitter client (I use blu, which is incredibly slick), I have it on my Windows Mobile phone, and I check it religiously. Friends roll their eyes at me when I mention it. My girlfriend yells, “YOU’RE SO ADDICTED!” whenever I check it at home. But Twitter has value for everyone, just in different ways.

The power of Twitter can be boiled down to a few main points.

• It all happens in real-time. You don’t have to check it like email. There doesn’t even seem to be any lag on it. When you post your tweet, people who are following you see it. Boom. Done.
• You can take it anywhere. If you’ve got a cell phone, Twitter goes with you on the road. You can receive texts of a user’s new tweets, and you can text in your own. If you have a smartphone, there are approximately 846 different Twitter clients to choose from. You can have one on your desktop. You can have one in your web browser. Heck, you can use it from any computer using the web interface. And, you don’t have to sync any of it. It’s all just there for you.
• It is insanely easy to use. Click to follow someone and you’ll see their tweets. Type stuff in with 140 characters or less (you’ll see a running count on any Twitter client). Repeat. It’s that simple.

Okay, but isn’t Twitter just used to swap useless information? People only see or hear about Twitter through the media, which mainly makes people think that it’s a bunch of overweight computer geeks who are letting other overweight computer geeks know that their moms made them egg salad for lunch today. But there are plenty of – dare I say it – useful ways that even the average person can make use of Twitter. And you don’t have to be an aspiring blogger looking to make connections with other bloggers, either.

1. Don’t create an account.

The only thing you need a Twitter account for is following people. If you want to try out Twitter’s other features or read up on someone’s Twitter page, go for it. In fact, you can go to my Twitter page right now and read up on what I’m tweeting about, without having to log in. That’s great because then you can make yourself feel less pathetic in your head by convincing yourself that you’re not actually using Twitter.

2. Take full advantage of Twitter Search.

One of the most powerful ways one can use Twitter is by using Twitter Search, which looks through all the tweets and brings up what people are saying. Still wondering if people are talking about Chuck Norris? Just do a Twitter Search for it and read people’s still-kinda-funny comments on him, all updated in real-time. You can even look in the sidebar to see what topics people are talking about most. It’s an interesting social study. And some of those Chuck Norris jokes are still pretty funny.

3. Get news immediately.

News sources like CNN are posting news as it happens. Real-time updates can be incredibly useful. Stop waiting for the headlines to change on MSN.com or for the Early Edition to hit your front porch. Get news NOW.

4. Actually make connections.

Okay, so maybe you can use it to make some connections. The Twitter world is one of the friendliest worlds I know. Even top-notch bloggers who get millions of people to read their stuff can respond to you personally on Twitter, just because they can. And services like Mr. Tweet help you find those people that you might want to follow. Looking to network with other graphic designers? It’s there. Want to talk to other stay-at-home moms? Knock yourself out. You can make valuable, entertaining connections with people of similar interests every day on Twitter.

5. It’s an easy way to find ridiculously useful content.

The Internet is larger than you and I will ever know. There are millions of sites. Millions. Some of them – okay, a lot of them – are completely useless. But some, like The Practical Nerd, are incredibly useful and relevant. One of the calling cards of Twitter is sharing valuable content. The people you follow will have links to really entertaining sites, or interesting and useful articles. For example, my fellow bloggers and I share links to articles about writing better content, marketing your blog, using Twitter to drive traffic to your blog, etc. If you want to connect with fellow MMA lovers, you could share links to interviews with the biggest fighters, or late-breaking news on a big fight coming up. Sometimes it might just be to a fun video. But if you are looking to broaden your horizons and learn more and get the most out of the Internet’s power and community, Twitter can help you do that.

6. Follow people just for the laughs – including celebrities!

Tim Siedell posts ridiculously dry humor to his Twitter account. At least two or three a day make me laugh out loud:

You may not know Paul Feig’s name, but you know what he does: he created Freaks and Geeks, he directed episodes of Arrested Development, among others, and he also wears a suit. He was Mr. Poole on Sabrina, The Teenage Witch. And he tweets about bizarrely funny stuff, a lot:

And of course, my favorite, and a favorite for all you fans of The Office, the hilarious Rainn Wilson, who plays beet-lover Dwight Schrute:

Okay, so some might look at all this and say that Twitter is still a gigantic time waster. You know what I say to that? What do you call top ten lists on FOX Sports, late-breaking news on Lindsay Lohan’s lesbian relationship, or the latest “Which flavor of Doritos are you?” quiz on Facebook? Yup, they’re all time-wasters. We all waste time on our computers – stop acting like you don’t.

What are your thoughts on Twitter? I want to hear ‘em in the comments!