I have a couple of standard arguments and I'd like to crystallise those here.

It may be an interesting, and hopefully convincing read if you don't tweet, and useful to people who do, and would like to convince others.

so, why does twitter matter? 

Firstly, Twitter doesn't matter:

The first myth to dispel is that we're talking about Twitter at all here. This post isn't really about the usefulness of Twitter, it's about the usefulness of global, realtime communication and networking.

A lot of people hesitate to sign up to Twitter because it's "just a fad" or it will be "replaced by something else next week" so forget the platform, forget the brand name.

Just ask yourself this:

Can you see the benefit in global realtime communication and networking? Can you see the benefit in being able to network with thousands of people in your field, from across the world, in being able to ask questions of them all in seconds, and get responses near instantly?

I really wanted to get on the recent google plus trial, one tweet and I'm in (Thank's so much Paul) and three hours later, google have shut down invites to the trial! I wouldn't be on the trial unless I'd been using Twitter.

Having a large and responsive network is massively beneficial, and believe me, global, realtime communication and networking is here to stay, what it's called in the future doesn't matter, but trust me, if you build up a network of likeminded people they'll continue to be your network on whatever platform comes next.

That said, Twitter is currently the simplest form of this type of communication, so get started now, build your network, make contacts, friends, mentors & followers.

Short and sweet

So hopefully you can see that twitter is a networking tool, but it's also a valuable educational tool...

One of the hardest things in business is to keep up with the trends, whatever your sector, things change and that pace of change appears ever increasing.

One of the questions I'm often asked is how I know so much about these sorts of tools, or the web in general, "I just dont have the time to keep up with it all" I'm told. It sometimes comes across as a tiny bit offensive, as if everyone else is really busy and I must have loads of time on my hands. Well I don't, I just follow a select group of people who make it their passion to be informed as I make it mine, and between us we all share a lot of information.

What helps this along is one of the joys of tweets, they're short, 140 characters, so many of them are true pearls of wisdom. By following the right people you can skim through their findings and get up to date on any subject really rather quickly, and as they usually post links to more in-depth articles you can choose how and when you want more insight into a particular area.

The impact of being recognised

Once you're on board it's important to realise that Twitter isn't just a virtual tool, you'll meet your followers and the people you follow, they'll recognise you and you'll recognise them.

The image you attach to your profile is crucial, make it large, clear and recognisable. People will hunt you out when you're at the same conference, you'll make valuable friends and strengthen bonds, many people I speak to get a lot of business from Twitter, and putting a face to the name is a big part of effective use of the tool.

Use it your way

The final thing i tell people is sometimes the most important.

You don't have to say anything on twitter.

I know people who use it purely as a tool for consuming information, they've been on twitter for years, and follow hundreds of people, but never tweet at all...

Twitter is a tool, and you can use it however you like, there's immeasurable benefit in getting involved actively, but it can be just as valuable a tool for pure research, it can be a PR tool, a networking tool, a marketing tool, a research tool, a way to attend a conference virtually, keep up on the latest news, the list goes on...

And all in just 140 characters!

Just give it a go... 

I feel there are some fundamental misconceptions around the iPad, and many people who still don't understand the device. So I thought I'd talk a little about why I use the iPad and what it has meant to my life, both in business and outside of it.

The single most important feature of the iPad is it's ease of access, not ease of use, but access... The iPad is comparable to a phone, rather than a laptop, it takes seconds to power on, is incredibly light, has 10 hours of battery.

I carry my iPad with me everywhere, literally.

In the morning I wake and take it from my bedside table and check my Facebook, twitter, email etc. It's in my hand when I walk to work, and if I am asked, like I was last week, for directions to somewhere I'm not sure of, I flip back the cover, tap the map app, and present the astounded person I'm helping out with a gps located map...

A work it sits at my desk, sometimes I don't turn on my PC in the morning if email is the order of the day, in meetings it sits on my lap whee I use the unrivalled "evernote" to keep notes and minutes.

On the train it's loaded with the podcasts and shows I watch, and also has the kindle app with the three books I currently have on the go ( including Malcom Gladwell's "what the dog saw" which is great)

If winding down in the pub with friends it sometimes doubles up as a table football game, or we play a multitude of other four player table top games.

Back home and it's the Internet on my lap while watching TV, my cookbook, cocktail aid at parties, and finally off to bed to finish off that book.

I learnt enough Turkish on it to impress the locals and gain their respect while on holiday (I'm sat writing this by the pool in Side, Turkey)

I blog from it, collate, edit and share all my photos from it, write music on it, make movies on it.... The list goes on, but it all comes back to the ease of access, it's not that it's easy to use, though it is, it's that it's easy to get to all those tools within seconds...