Twitter Time

BOSTON (FOX25, myfoxboston) - First there was MySpace, then along came Facebook. Now, the latest social networking rising star is Twitter, and if you are like many of us, you're probably wondering why this micro-blogging service is fast becoming a must have for people of all ages?

As Fox 25's Erin Hawksworth explains, there's much more to Twitter than just answering the question "What are you doing?"

“Do you use Twitter?” asks Erin Hawksworth

“I do use Twitter,” answers a man on the street.

For New Englanders it seems this land of Twitter, where life is documented on the internet in 140 characters or fewer, is really starting too take off. Sometimes “tweets” can be intriguing.

“Well right now I am in a heated debate with Miley Cyrus over the title of her next song,” says a guy on the street.

Twitter is about real information, in real-time.

Tweets can be found all over Hollywood! Lindsay Lohan recently used Twitter to break up with her girlfriend.

You may have heard about actor Ashton Kutcher's obsession with Twitter. The star recently became the first tweeter to reach one million followers.

Professional athletes, like Celtics’ guard Paul Pierce also use twitter to give away tickets and let fans know how they feel during games.

“Twitter is a fun, quick way to keep up with your friends and it can be done right from our phone. But it's also evolved into a valuable tool for businesses, professionals, civic organizations and even politicians,” explains Erin Hawksworth.

President Obama tweets. He used Twitter to help get out the vote.

“We all have an innate need to feel connected, to know that other people care about us and want to find out what happens to us and I think it fulfills that need,” says ProfessorAzer Bestavros of Boston University

Professor Azer Bestavros, a computer science professor at Boston University says educators are beginning to use Twitter to keep students informed about lectures, schedule changes and even grades.

And at FOX 25 news, we're now "tweeting" news updates and letting our viewers know what we're working on right now for our upcoming newscasts.

“You can't afford not to because of the nature of what you do,” says Bestavros.

Twitter also makes traffic updates simple. By following Wellesley's Police Department on Twitter, residents know what's happening around town instantly.

“We had a bank robbery about two to three weeks ago and we were able to put that out and also put out the fact that Washington Street was closed for about a mile and the feeling is by putting it out, people avoid the area and I takes a lot of burden off us,” says Sergeant Scott Whittemore of the Wellesley Police Department.

Wellesley was one of the first police department's in the country to use twitter.

“We were really looking for something to get info to the public in a timely way, something we could do from the street. Twitter seemed to answer the call for us on that,” adds Sergeant Whittemore.

Doctors are now using Twitter to give updates during surgeries and job seekers are finding Twitter a great resource for networking and finding employment.

“I tweet to different people in the music industry and I get a lot of contacts that way,” explains a local musician.

But by putting our lives on-line, by tweeting instead of talking, are we killing face-to-face communication?

“I am not convinced that all the social networking is really competing with our personal interactions. Now I have a much more efficient way to communicate because I can talk to so many people in less time. On the receiving end of it, it is less intrusive, you don't have to get a phone call when you are not ready to get a phone call,” says Professor Bestavros.

Yet, there are some drawbacks to tweeting.

“Watch out, because your employer is probably following you and they know what you are doing,” laughs Professor Bestavros.

Still, Twitter is such a hot commodity that Google is trying to buy the service for upwards of $250 million dollars.

“It’s probably worth that and much more,” says Bestavros.

It looks like Twitter is a form of communication that many of us just can't afford to do without.

Tweeting from Dedham, Erin Hawksworth, Fox 25 News.