For a long time now, my friends and I have struggled with the question “What is Twitter?”. It’s been hard to answer, and not just for us, but it seems for everyone out there. Is Twitter a blog? Not really. Is it an instant messenger? No, and especially not since SMS was removed for us here in Canada. But after doing a lot of thinking and using it for a while, I’ve found the real value in Twitter is human interaction. The disucssions with other people is the most valuable feature of Twitter. Broadcasting to an audience, and then recieving feedback from an audience of real people is what makes Twitter work.
And so that leads me to my new use for Twitter: Blog Comments!
Yes, it seems simple, and maybe even mundane. But here are a few reasons why I am letting Twitter handle all of the comments on my blog and why I think this trend is going to catch on.
Twitter is for Real People
Chances are, if you read my blog, click the link to respond to my post via Twitter, and post a tweet, you are an actual person, not a bot who knows how to get past captcha and submit a Wordpress form. And even if you are a bot with a twitter account, those following the conversation on twitter will see that and block you right away. That’s right folks, crowd-sourced comment moderation!
Less Trolls, More Quality
Twitter is also unique in the fact that followers are “fans” of you and your thoughts. This will prevent blog trolls who just try to stir stupid stuff up. You don’t want to disappoint your fans, do you? It’s going to be difficult to anonymously comment on a post, leading to more quality comments.
Twitter Creates a Web of Interaction
There is a real synergy to using Twitter as a comment system for a blog. If someone I don’t know reads a post, likes what they read, and posts a comment, all of his/her followers will see the comment. Some of those people will read my post and possibly comment, too. Their followers will see the comments and so on, creating a real ripple-effect through Twitter.
What’s In It For Me?
People reading your undoubtedly witty comments will check you out on Twitter, perhaps follow you, perhaps comment on a blog post you wrote, starting a new ripple in the Twitter pool. This will lead to more people following more interesting people.
So, this is my interesting little experiement. Send me a tweet and let me know what you think of this idea.
