Do you tweet?

So, do you do twitter? After a few weeks of tweeting, I feel like an old timer, following many and being followed back. Is this form of microblogging a waste of time – a gimmick – or is there some substance to it?

As a professional writer with a number of different outlets, it's always important for me to be open-minded about new technologies and tools. When I hear people (remember back in the mid-1990s when having a web presence really set you apart?) dismiss twtter as frivolous nonsense, I can't help but worry that they are sounding dangerously like those of the the generation before who dismissed the internet, and then those who followed who dismissed blogs.

Blogs are now well established, and I'm glad that I jumped on the bandwagon back in 2001 by starting one of the first wine blogs. Will twitter prove to be as successful? It's hard to say, but I'm on board.

Social networking (including facebook and myspace along with twitter) offers people a chance to be generous and give to their network of friends, colleagues and associates. It's not necessarily about the quality or nature of the content: it's that you care enough to share with others, and in return they give back. It's communication. To dismiss these networking tools for the quality of the content on them is liike dismissing the importance of small talk in social gatherings. It matters a great deal, even if it is largely emphemeral, shallow and inconsequential. Its significance is that it shows you care enough about people to make an effort, make a connection and give them some of your attention.

If you don't twitter, give it a go – I'll follow you! I'm on @jamiegoode