Do you Twitter? What is it, you say?

I came across a brilliant video clip that explains what Twitter is in plain English:

I love the simplicity of the video, especially as it has been particularly tricky explaining to people just why I’ve found Twitter so useful. The video is a starting point really, and doesn’t go into why Twitter has such a lasting appeal: quick access to information and social interaction.

I’ll be pointing a number of friends at the video. Explaining why Twitter has been so useful for me is a bit like trying to explain fractional ownership to a 2-year old. The explanation of how microblogging fills in the spaces between blog posts and emails is a particularly useful analogy and it’s been a great medium for me to keep in touch with loads of people without getting too distracted from what I was doing. Maybe it’s because Tweets can be absorbed in a single glance, just like checking the time on your watch. Now I just need to get more friends on it (Sherrilynne .. I mean you) 😉

It’s been interesting to see how the blogosphere has picked up on it and see the clip echoed here, here and here. And if you’re on Twitter, you can follow me here.