Many of the benefits of using Twitter have been discussed in terms of individual communication, or opening up companies – but one major benefit I’ve experienced hasn’t been mentioned anywhere I’ve seen.
At it’s most simple, I get a lot less email to deal with. For all the time I’ve spent on Twitter, and the ability is has to act like social networking crack and make whole hours vanish in conversation, it’s had a hugely positive effect on the time I spend trawling through Outlook filing 100s of emails for attention if I get time, following links, and generally drowning in a see of email.
Twitter has changed that by allowing anyone who wants to contact me with a simple question get straight to the point – the same works for linksharing (along with Delicious,Stumbleupon and Digg).
I rarely browse websites, or read reviews and other content which isn’t recommended for me personally. I rarely get emails touting the latest viral comedy video clip, or joke photos – and when I do, it’s from people who I’d generally classify as Late Adopters. Which means for the first time in a few years, my main email accounts (including my work one) are now possible to keep relatively empty – when a few months ago I’d regularly be getting 150+ emails per day. It also means less time spent configuring spam filters and email rules to keep myself productive.
The final benefit is that it categorises communication somewhat. Without it becoming silo’d, it means that I can expect useful links on Delicious, documents on email, and a general overview of the best stuff on the web from Stumbleupon and Digg. And I can expect to dive into the latest Zeitgeist, and pick up on messages and links quickly in a few Twitter bursts throughout the day.
So if you want to help justify the time you spent tweeting – start counting the time you don’t spend checking emails…