I use Twitter very naturally.
I rarely schedule a tweet. If I have something to say, I say it.
If I feel the notion to reply to an @joelcomm tweet, I reply.
If I want to take photos while on the move, I'll use Tweetie and Twitpic.
And if I want to talk business, I talk business.
I am not on Twitter all the time, but I also do check in at least once/day to see what's going on.
What about people who are on Twitter all the time?
How would they live if the "fail whale" was up for an entire day?
I recently posed the question in the form of a Tweet...

The answers were telling. You can easily determine who is using Twitter too much, and who is a casual user that doesn't have all their eggs in the Twitter basket.



I think my favorite is the question asking if oxygen masks would drop from the ceiling.
Twitter should be just one part of your social media strategy. I would have a much more difficult time without access to email than to Twitter.

February 13, 2009 11:39 AM
I would be upset if Twitter was down for 24 hours. I would miss updates from you joelcomm not to mention redcross FDARecalls and so many more that I follow
February 13, 2009 11:43 AM
If twitter went down, it would be life as usual. I wouldn't freak out about it. In fact, I might get some more work done. I could continue conversations another day or another means.
There are many more places to hang out on the Social Media Landscape than Twitter. Hell, I listed over 3000 of them in the Social Networking Directory.
- Michael S. Copeland
Get the SND Free:
http://socialnetworkingdirectory.info/thankyou
February 13, 2009 11:48 AM
I plan to pop in to see what's going on in Twitter once per day but I average getting on about 3 times a week or so.
Like you, I would have a much harder time being without email, but to be honest, this is primarily because most of my businesses online are connected to my email in some way shape or form.
Now if all of my business was connected through twitter in this same manner, you can bet I'd be much more inclined to need those oxygen masks to pop out of the ceiling if twitter were down for 24 hours :)
Heck, if you think about most of us internet marketers, our money is in our email lists, but I could easily see this changing to some other medium like twitter in the future, and we might find ourselves saying 'Hey the money is in the tweets!'
Thanks Joel!
February 13, 2009 01:24 PM
If Twitter were to go down for 24 hours I'm sure we'd all meetup over at Facebook and just update our status messages more frequently. ;-)
TGIF!
Expect Success,
Shannon Denniston
February 13, 2009 01:34 PM
I think I would be shocked if twitter went down, but I wouldn't overreact too much. I could focus my time spent on twitter into other areas which need attending too.
February 13, 2009 01:37 PM
I am @icedub (pictured in the first screenshot). My comment was obviously a joke. Just a week or two ago I wouldn't have cared, but it's become addictive tweeting a question and getting responses so quickly!
Ethan
http://www.ethanwaldman.com
February 13, 2009 02:46 PM
Oh wow, I just started tweeting recenlty so I'd be really upset. No really I'd take the opportunity to do some real socializing - I'd call some real life freinds an go for a beer.
February 13, 2009 03:01 PM
Joel - I like you use Twitter in a very natural way, it really doesn't require any particular effort. I have yet to schedule a tweet although I do think that use of Tweet Later makes sense under certain circumstances - it would be nice to connect with the overnight Tweeps on Tweetville with whom I otherwise couldn't connect.
I tweet from my Blackberry, I tweet from Friend Feed, I tweet with Tweet Deck, I tweet from Twitter - it all depends on where I am and what I am doing. I like to keep Tweet Deck running in the background and pop over there every now and then to check in.
Here is a tip; I have a small and select number of the people I follow set up on my Blackberry to receive their tweets, so that I don't miss their content. I can also RT and stay engaged on the move without needing my computer.
As usual great post and comments!
James
http://www.Twitter.com/AskJamesHolmes