Twitter: We are all following each other but where are we going?

I commented on Twitter in a previous post and joined. I am following people, they are following me but I have been trying to figure out... Where are we going?

I decided I needed to take the time to read the Getting Started section of Twitter. It is my nature to skip over instructions and just jump right in, but in this case, I think I am going to need some help. Several of you have asked me about Twitter so maybe this will answer some of your questions. Below is a brief explanation from the Twitter Support section.

What is it?

Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent messages. People write short updates, often called "tweets" of 140 characters or fewer. These messages are posted to your profile or your blog, sent to your followers, and are searchable on Twitter search.

What do people tweet about?

Everything! From the most mundane (going to sleep) to the most personal, (having a baby) people say it all on Twitter. You don't have to say exactly what you're doing, you can say whatever you want. Share random thoughts, post a link, say what you're listening to or what you dreamt about. You can post something as simple as "Eating a sandwich."

But why would people do that?

Eating a sandwich becomes a lot more interesting in the context of Twitter. On a personal note, keeping up with friends or family on Twitter helps to fill in gaps and stop missing details about the lives of those you care about. So much is lost when "catching up" but Twitter can help you share important or interesting daily details you might otherwise forget.

Friends keeping in touch aren't the only ones posting updates to Twitter. Companies, news agencies, celebrities, and even the future President have information to share too! They use Twitter for fun, but also to give people important information and find out what's going on with them. Twitter is a way for companies, celebrities and other organizations to communicate with people.

Twitter is receiving and sending millions of different kinds of status updates from all over the world in real time. Suddenly what you're doing is also part of what everyone is doing, right at this very moment. For this reason, news breaks first on Twitter. When there is an earthquake, or a tragic event like the recent shooting in Mumbai, Twitter is the first to know because people who are there are talking about it. To see this for yourself, visit Twitter search and type in any word to see what people are saying about it right now. Check out the topics that are most interesting to all of Twitter in the trends section of the sidebar.

After reading above, I have a clearer understanding. If you decide to twitter, you probably will only want to follow people that have the same business and/or personal interests as you. If someone tweets you and wants to follow, you do not have to accept them.

Hope this helps those of you that were also wondering about Twitter. For more information, visit www.twitter.com.