OK, so a few weeks ago I wrote a piece that I don’t get Twitter and oddly, despite peoples great intentions I still have to admit that I just don’t get what all the hype is about. Now some people are quick to point out that the web is full of Twitter naysayers but I think it’s more than that, perhaps I’m just too attached to popular media to see the relevance or I just can’t see where it’s going but when it comes right down to it … I still just don’t get it.

Now Stephen has a great point (or two) about Twitter keeping people updated and redefining the term “up-to-date” but honestly, my Twitter feed keeps telling me things like what my friend Brian’s going to go see at the movie. OK, that’s a little harsh … because of Brian’s Twitter a few weeks ago I’m saving $40 a month on my iPhone but that’s not the point (and no Brian, I’m not cutting you in on the savings) … the point is that beyond pointing me to a lower cost plan, I’ve not seen anything positive come from the service yet.

It’s also possible that I’m just too “old” to get Twitter. I don’t mean my actual age, I mean my time on the Internet. I’ve been doing this for 15 years, 25 if you count my time on the old BBS and FidoNet services so the idea of Twitter, which I basically break down into a glorified Instant Messenger has been around since the early ’60s (even before me!) in one form or another. The only real difference as far as I can tell is that Twitter is meant to allow thousands of people on my “friends” list instead of the dozens I have on services such as Skype or MSN.

My other beef with Twitter is that while I don’t mind sending the odd message on it, the terminology used in the Twittersphere makes me feel like a Twat. Personally, I don’t want to join Tweeple in being a Tweeter any more than I want to have Tweeps for friends. Of course, the biggest beef I have is the concept of it being a popularity contest and Ashton Kutcher just drove this fact home with what I’d call the worse thing to ever happen to Twitter. 

So even if I ignore Oprah and Ashton’s antics on the service and pretend not to notice the stunning media band wagon for the service, and I manage to get past the fact that I still just can’t seem to wrap my head around why I’d care to follow what flavor yogurt you’re buying … then what? Most people I’ve followed are industry people who post a pointless stream of self promotional rubbish claiming to make tons of cash from the service (with little proof btw) or some close friends who basically just replicate their Facebook status updates.

This of course leads me to the ever pessimistic and often commented on issue with Twitter … how are they going to make money? See, the problem is simple … Twitter is a celebrated thoroughbred who’s never won a race. It a practical world, businesses can not survive without making money and to date the service hasn’t made money (the comic is from Geek & Poke). I’m not the first person to ask how the micro-blogging service plans to keep the lights on, it’s been on peoples mind for a couple years now and to date, nobody has an answer which concerns me more than all the Tweeps and junk posts combined.

(btw, for those who are curious the bird comes from Smashing Magazine and designer Gopal Raju.)