My first Tech Talk column about Twitter was published last April when I said how boring it was, with constant tweets about what someone is eating and which socks they choose to wear on any particular day. I originally signed up more than a year ago, but did not find it too fascinating.

A couple of months ago, a friend encouraged me to try again and I did.

I found that a robust community has grown up around the tool in the intervening months and believe it is indeed the Next Big Thing.

I am not alone. US presidential candidates Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and John McCain can all be followed on Twitter. So too are the UK Labour Party, the Conservatives and 10 Downing Street — the last of which actually follows me on Twitter!

Facebook is about blogging, Twitter is about microblogging. They are both social networks, but on Facebook you can write long notes, leave loads of comments, trade applications and post pictures, videos and more.

Twitter is text-based only and keeps the communication to 140 characters or tweets.

It is the hyku of blogging and really focuses your mind on effective communication. There is no scope for long-winded discussion nor for detailed explanation. Imagine this column posted on Twitter. It would probably read: 'Twitter is the next big thing: microblogging delivers instant and broad-reaching communication and is an excellent tool for syndication.'

People use it to voice their opinions on a particular topic or news story or they can use it to ask for advice. So, when the story broke about UBS's huge credit losses, the 'Twitteri' were all a buzz with speculation.

Our company recently did a Twitter survey on behalf of a client who wanted to find out more about Microsoft-based blogging platforms.

Within one minute we had five suggestions for good tools.

Immediacy is one of the biggest benefits of microblogging — you do not need to be at a computer to share your thoughts. You can tweet from your mobile phone wherever you may be.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerman was interviewed on stage at a recent US trade conference where the audience was obviously full of social media enthusiasts. However, the crowd did not like the line of questioning used by interviewer Sarah Lacy. Even while the interview was still taking place, Twitter was humming as audience members poured scorn.

Before Mark Zuckerman left the stage, the whole world knew how bad the interview was and Lacy's reputation as a hard-hitting journo was in tatters.

She uses Twitter and later that day issued a defensive tweet: 'Seriously, screw all you guys. I did my best to ask a range of things.'

You can see why politicians like microblogging to communicate immediately and directly with their stakeholders. Businesses can use it too. Imagine airlines tweeting about schedule changes. Estate agents could let house hunters know about new listings or media organisations could issue headline news as it breaks. And there is a ton of potential for location-based services too. How long exactly until the taxi I ordered arrives?

But being 'always on' does have its pitfalls. The constant barrage of updates can wear you down.

You can always 'unfollow'people who over-tweet. At the time of writing, I am getting updates on people's breakfast choices and how well they slept. I am actually not that interested. But I am also learning about the latest technology news from the FT and 10 Downing Street tells us that the prime minister has arrived late in New York and is preparing for a series of meetings at the UN tomorrow.

Microblogging is, without a doubt, the Next Big Thing. Yes it is a bit faddy, but new applications are being introduced. Tumblr and Hictu are gaining in popularity as tools to microblog pix and video and indexing and search tools are making the content more useful.

As the userbase reaches critical mass, Twitter is bound to go mainstream and the corporate world will find ways to use it for commercial gain. By the time this happens, we will all be wondering what the next, next big thing will be.


>>Sherrilynne Starkie is the managing partner of Strive Public Relations, a strategic communications consultancy in the Isle of Man. She provides her views on business and technology each week in Tech Talk. Visit her business blog, Strive Notes for frequent updates www.strivepr.com or follow her on twitter.com/sherrilynne