Twitter: Favourite Waste of Time?

I followed this radio piece (available online for a few more days) with interest, having had zero interest in using twitter for myself, but having observed a raft of personal friends and contacts using this "web 2.0 gimmick" over the past months with all the new-found enthusiasm of converts to a cult music group or urban self-improvement craze.

Rooting around to see who is on it, I am staggered at the amount of sane, intelligent, adult people in there, apparently using it like a teenage hangout. I should have known it would be big - that Evan guy invented Blogger, right, and Blogger did change my life.

So yesterday, I dived into twitter. I'm not sure whether it's the most zeitgeist communication web thing ever, present tense blogging, mindless inanity, or just everyone's new favourite trendy waste of time. A lot of people seem to be frenzied twitterers... is this is for real? or is it more a matter of "keeping up with the websters"? Is this the natural outlet for the monkey-brain chatterbox which meditation teaches us to still, so that we might achieve peace and personal enlightenment? What's the netiqette? If I "follow" someone (weird concept, just a little too much like stalking) is it flattery, friendship, or sycophancy? Or does it reveal an unhealthy interest in the minutiae of other people's breakfasts?

I've cancelled the SMS messages - my phone filled up... something just ain't right about this deluge of trivia. Not sure I can bear to read stuff like, "had a bite of toast" "had another bite of toast" "no more toast" for too long.

Which reminds me: time to make toast.