All A Twitter

Twitter is the latest Internet craze, but not everybody's convinced it's worthwhile - especially in your professional life. Join Gihan and Chris as they explain what it is, how it works and how to get the most out of it.



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What is Twitter?

Compare Twitter with e-mail: Why don't we share our thoughts by e-mailing everybody in our address book?

1. Not everybody wants it
2. Fills up their in-box
3. Messages are too long to read
4. Gets mixed up with important e-mail
5. Difficult to opt out

Twitter solves these problems:

1. Only your followers get your tweets (messages)
2. They only see what streams by at the time
3. Messages have to be 140 characters maximum
4. It operates as a separate channel from e-mail
5. You must have their permission, and they get to opt out at any time

Where does Twitter/microblogging fit in the social networking landscape?

• MySpace/Facebook: family and friends (small circle of people around you)
• LinkedIn: professional network (larger circle, but still you get to choose)
• Twitter: can be both (but very large circle - and you don't have control)

People on Twitter:

• Gihan on Twitter
• Chris on Twitter
• Pollies: Kevin and Malcom actually get Twitter - Obama doesn't
• Celebrities: Demi Moore does it better than her husband Ashton Kutcher; Oprah got 1,000,000 followers, but doesn't get it (tweets in ALL CAPS); Arj Barker gets it.
• You're never too old to Tweet - Ivy Bean 104 years old

But does Kevin really get it? The Herald Sun reckons he's a boring twit, and Gihan reckons he's an arrogant twit with tweets like this:

How to Use Twitter

How to:

• Deepen your domain: Follow smart people (use Twitter's search box or follow recommendations) and read what they say
• Broaden your field: Follow others in your field, re-tweet, reply, DM, go "offline" to e-mail or their blogs or (gasp!) phone
• Expand your network: Invite clients, prospects, e-zine readers and others to follow you; give them value (not promotional)
• Share your thoughts: Link to your blog posts, link to other URLs you like, re-tweet good stuff, say wise stuff

The most important rule:

What To Do Next

Sign up, start following Gihan and Chris, follow the people they're following, then eventually start tweeting!

Remember: Twitter is like a magnifying glass, so use it to support what you do best - learning, collaborating, networking or sharing.

The National Broadband Network

The Australian government is committing $43bn in a public/private partnership to build over eight years a fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) broadband network, i.e. a national optical fibre network, superseding the existing copper (telephony) network.

It should deliver 100Mbps broadband to homes, which is a big improvement over the the current theoretical max. of 24Mbps (ADSL 2+) and average/median of 3 to 4Mbps (according to Speedtest.net and ZDnet). Currently Australia doesn't even rank in the world's top-20 for Internet access speeds.

Listen to the podcast here:

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Some history:

• Both parties made this an election promise
• Telstra bid was withdrawn
• No private tenders accepted
• Govt. to go it alone
• Govt. share to be sold off within 5 years of completion

Some criticism:

• political grandstanding: Whitlamesque nation-building exercise
• Would wireless be better?
• Bundled with internet censorship legislation? (This would be a bad thing)
• Too expensive
• No private partners will be interested

As a result ...

It makes many of the technologies we've discussed in previous podcasts (more) possible:

• Cloud Computing
• High definition Internet TV
• Video teleconferencing
• E-health
• Distance education
• A key component if the government is serious about developing a thriving Digital Economy
• Things we haven't even thought of yet: Build it and they will come...

Useful links:

• The Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy starting page for the NBN
• Their recent media release
• Wikipedia entry for the NBN
• Rural Australia gets NBN call
• ZDNet Australia asked readers: "What will be the best use for the Federal Government's National Broadband Network?" Some interesting (and funny) comments here
• UK ISP Virgin Media to pilot 200Mbps broadband service