There has been much news about Twitter in recent weeks and months. Even the President of the United States of America has an account. And recently, Insidedge launched a Twitter account of its own (yes, shameless plug. But keep reading, I have some real thoughts for you, I promise!).

So all this talk in the media, among colleagues and with clients got
me thinking about the essence of what Twitter specifically (and social
networking in general) is all about. To me, it’s an expression of the
age-old human desire to connect with others, to be part of a community,
to be valued (maybe even admired) and to be heard. That’s it. Nothing
high-tech to it.

Technology is in the midst of a philosophical revolution. In the
early days of computing, the knowledge curve was very high and that
necessary technical aptitude translated into separation from others as
“computer geeks” poured in hours to learn code, etc. More time in front
of a screen and a small circle of people with comparable knowledge
meant the illusion of social isolation for these elite few from the
rest of us who were rushing to make it home to watch The Cosby Show.
Well, DVRs have changed that (unless you’re an Idol fan and want to see the whole episode) and social networking sites from Facebook to LinkedIn to YouTube and Flickr
have changed what we do on a computer and more profoundly how we
interact. Now, with basic computer knowledge, you can use this
technology to connect with hundreds and even thousands of people around
the world.

And that ties back to concept that we all want to connect. So to
better connect my office, I decided today to launch a new social
networking platform that is decidedly anti-technology, but with the
functionality that has become nearly second-nature to many of us. I’ve
dubbed this fusion of the bygone and the present “Old School Twitter.”
Above you see my name plate, a little banner that I made and a stack of
sticky notes. I will be updating my status there throughout the day.
And my co-workers are following suit. My hypothesis is that this will
increase interaction among co-workers and keep people more connected
and demonstrate how a tool like Twitter can be effective in a work
environment to foster collaboration and share ideas. See, I told you I
had a nugget for you!

Let me know what you think of this experiment or perhaps if you’ve tried something like this in your office.

SOURCE : INSIDEDGE