Twitter Is A Utility

I read the most fascinating article in MIT’s Technology Review recently.  It was an interview with Jack Dorsey, creator and former Chairman of Twitter.  Jack was replaced as chairman last October by co-founder Evan Williams and Jack is now working on his next “big thing”.  Square.

Square (@square) is a system which enables individuals to make payments via their smart-phones.  While the idea of Square is interesting and worth reading more about in the MIT article, it was a quote about Twitter that caught my attention.  “I think of Square in the same way we thought of Twitter.  We’re building a utility.” It is an interesting concept.

I am often asked why I use Twitter.  What is the value?  Why should I use it?  Is it worth my time?  I then give all the reasons I use it and examples of how it can be beneficial from a number of different business perspectives.  However, this new way of thinking about Twitter  really shocked me in a positive way.

If Twitter is a utility, it is a necessity.  The naysayers will not believe it yet since we’re still in the early stages of adoption of social platforms for business use.  I have been using Twitter as part of my daily routine for 2 1/2 years though and I can attest to it’s utility.  It’s serendipitous to think of all the information I’ve been exposed to during that time that may have never been available to me.  The only limit to what you as an individual or  your organization can do with Twitter is your imagination.

• Recruiting
• Research
• News
• Teaching
• Sales
• Networking
• Information sharing
• Emergency Preparedness
• Collaboration
• Sports

So, what do you think?  Will Twitter soon appear as one of the utilities on future editions of Monopoly?  Welcome to the Twitterverse!