Definitions:

Twit: twerp; someone who is regarded as contemptible.

Twitter: a succession of chirps as uttered by birds; to utter a succession of bird’s chirps.

For a while, I assumed that twittering was a new tweenage phenomenon, like texting nude pictures to one another, or wearing promise rings (the two are unrelated, I suppose). Because I am an out-of-touch luddite when it comes to stupid new fads, I tried to dismiss and ignore the occasional story that popped up on my Google news feed about the new twitterverse. But Twitter’s astronomical growth rate of 1,382 percent in the last year has been hard to ignore. With more than five million users, Twitter is the third largest social network, bested only by MySpace and Facebook. From politics and sports to journalism, this new service that allows you to stay “hyper-connected” has pervaded every aspect of popular culture.

Jack Dorsey founded Twitter soon after leaving college. Dorsey created Twitter based on the idea that he could apply social networking principles to instant messaging. And with this spark the micro-blogging culture was born. Twitter, Inc. allows users to regularly send updates to whomever chooses to follow their tweets (excuse my lingo) with 140 character messages about, well, whatever they want. So twitter-ers (tweeters?) receive a personalized assortment of tweets via mobile device or through the Internet, and in turn write updates for their own loyal band of followers. Even though this new hot company lacks any constant source of revenue from advertising or sales, its long-term viability is not in question. Just in the past few months, every major news organization, and many major athletes and celebrities have turned Twitter into their personal round-the-clock PR machines.

In a recent appearance on The Today Show, when asked by host Meredith Vieira if he had ever tweeted, Stephen Colbert casually responded, “I have twatted.” Celebrities who have in the past criticized our society’s obsession with knowing every aspect of their lives have done a 180 when it comes to divulging details of their daily routines. Twitter has given everyone from Snoop Dogg to Martha Stewart their own bully pulpit from which to deliver their musings, plugs and just plain fluff. In fact, Martha Stewart follows Snoop Dogg on Twitter, and recently tweeted to him, “Yo Snoop, check out MY doggies’ new doggie blog.” Ms. Stewart recently began a blog for her two French bulldogs. Strangely enough, even the typically technologically challenged Washington bureaucrats have been quick to pick up this new hi-tech application.

21st century-challenged John McCain has managed to make headlines with his Twitter account, as he promised to “tweet the TOP TEN PORKIEST PROJECTS” included in a recently passed omnibus spending bill (Cornell trivia: number 4 on John’s list was an earmark for Cornell’s Grape Genetics Research in Geneva, NY). On the other side of the aisle, Senator Claire McCaskill has become so addicted to non-stop micro-blogging that she updated her Twitter status during the State of the Union Address. One could clearly see a Blackberry in one hand as she stood and clapped when ailing Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg entered the chamber (“I did a big wooohoo for [her]”). Despite the absurdity of our nation’s leaders using this new technology as if they were 8th graders texting during a history lesson, Twitter has some potentially serious and beneficial applications in our society.

When it comes to expediency and efficiency for relaying quick messages, Twitter’s network capabilities are unmatched. During the Mumbai attacks late last year, eyewitnesses sent out an estimated 15 tweets per second as the shootings unfolded. Many of these tweets provided emergency phone numbers and the names of hospitals in need of blood donations in the immediate aftermath of the attack. Some research has shown that tweets are the most effective way of diffusing information during emergencies (Twitter was used by the Australian government during the recent Victorian brushfires). This simple yet effective tool has been utilized by everyone from the Red Cross to The New York Times to Shaquille O’Neal. In a recent intelligence report, the U.S. military thought Twitter to be so powerful as to identify it as a potential tool for terrorists.

Just like YouTube and many of the other technologies that have emerged with the advent of Web 2.0, Twitter is both a useful tool for quickly disseminating critical information as well as a service for inundating us with mind-numbing rubbish. The beauty of Twitter is its ability to be used in a variety of ways depending on the inclination of the tweeter. I might use Twitter to follow my favorite bloggers and receive headlines and links from NPR, while another could follow Shaq’s tweets including gems like, “I c two sister. Ug and lee Lol.” Whether or not you think it will revolutionize our methods of communication, Twitter is here to stay.