I wonder what Tom Cruise is doing? (Twitter.com)

Member Name: JakeLedge

Product:	Twitter.com
Date:	25/01/09 (127 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy to use, revolutionary, fun and interesting

Disadvantages: none

My friends had previously spoken of this internet craze called Twitter. I dismissed them and decided to stick to the well-known facebook. It wasn't until I had watched the return of Friday Night with Jonathan Ross when QI's Stephen Fry was a guest. They started talking about this phenomenon, Twitter. Out of curiosity, I visited Twitter, set up an account, and searched not only my friends but various celebrities such as Stephen Fry. Unbelievably, I'm now a follower (I'll explain later) of Jonathan Ross and Stephen Fry and can now contact them through this superb website called Twitter. Whether they reply to me is another story but the fact that I can view what various celebs are doing is very interesting.

Anyway, Twitter is a real-time short messaging service that works over multiple networks and devices. This means that you are able to connect with friends and family much like Facebook and MySpace. However, the major difference between Twitter and those other social networking sites is the fact that your messages aren't allowed to be more than 140 characters. You may think this feature known as micro-blogging is strange and silly but it's the simplicity of this that makes it unique.
Currently, we have so many gizmos, gadgets and technical objects that aren't necessary. That said, neither is Twitter but the simplicity means that online messaging has never been easier. It reminds me of mobile phones in the good old days when all they did was what a phone should be able to do.

Once you get onto the site signing up is very straightforward. Just follow the simple instructions. You pick a username, password and email address, then you are good to go.
All you are asked once logging into the site is ''What are you doing?''. Whatever you have written is shown to all Twitter users but if you are uncomfortable with this there is a feature that makes your profile private.
Some of your current friends may already be experiencing the delights of Twitter so there is a search feature available for you to seek them out, which is fairly accurate. You can also import contacts from your email and invite friends.
Although, you don't have to talk to people you know, a good idea is ''twittering'' with people who share similar interests as you.
Once you have found your friends, clicking follow in the top left hand corner of page means that you now receive automatic updates of the desired person's status. They are posted on your homepage under your own personal status.
You are also followed yourself, particularly if you are an interesting person. However, if you are being followed (sounds kind of stalker-ish, but it's not), you can block the unwanted follower meaning they can no longer contact you or see what you're doing.

The site seems perfectly safe. Another safety feature is that the only way to receive direct messages is for you to follow the person you're messaging and them to be following you. This eliminates the prospect of any abusive letters (common to all social networking sites, not just twitter) you may receive.

When a friend has left an update in their status you are able to use a feature called and @reply. It is a public message and posted on the profile of that person. These again can only be up to 140 characters which is why it's called micro-blogging.
The whole Twitter experience is just superb. Its simple and easy to pick up, I've only been on it for 2 days and have picked everything up and I'm already as hooked as Pete Doherty is to heroin.

The concept is unique and extremely simple. There is no ''pimping of the profile'', videos or music. It's just a box that needs filling, it's that simple.
Going back to the celebrity friend's issue, there are many people who fake who they are and pretend to be some major celebrity (the biggest giveaway is when their status updates whilst they are live on TV). However, there are many genuine ones such as Jonathan Ross, Stephen Fry, Phillip Scofield and I've even found Andy Murray.
On my latest news, I've got updates from Phillip Scofield and MC Hammer which make for very interesting and humorous reading.
If you are of the curious and nosy kind, just like me, then Twitter is for you. Being able to keep tabs on all your friends and families is brilliant. It's also great if you need to know the answer to a question as many of the users that are following you will happily answer various questions. It's a great way to connect due to its simplicity and ease of use. After all, it's the simple things in life that make us happy, friends, family and Twitter.

Summary: Fantastic website