So who uses Twitter?  The Twitter landscape appears to be made up of individuals of all races, backgrounds, education levels and interests.  Ordinary people as well as high profile individuals use the service….even presidential candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are using Twitter to keep their followers up to date as to where they are and where their going next. One example of an organization using Twitter effectively was when the Los Angeles Fire Department put it to use in dealing with the California wildfires in 2007.           

In order to truly get a better picture of the overall use of Twitter one would have to follow a large group over a long period of time.  People who use the service seem to have many diverse interests.  Some use Twitter to simply post quick blurbs about what they are doing at that moment.  Some use it to send out messages to their followers about something they’ve seen, heard or done that would be of interest to them.  Yet others use Twitter for business or educational purposes, sending out offers or ideas that business people, or even the general public, might find of interest.  Educators can use Twitter to pose questions, make assignments, recommend a resource or even ask questions of their students.  Twitter users broadcast messages about a new hobby they are into, a favorite band’s new album, a great movie they’ve seen…..there’s really no limit to what’s being broadcast.  Unlike other SNS such as MySpace or Facebook, Twitter is not used so much for in depth discussions, explorations of one’s personality or hang-ups, but rather simply to tell the world “what I’m doing right now”!