I took a step back, and saw some startling similarities between Twitter and something in my offline world as a heart surgeon.

The Coffee Room!

Every hospital (and operating suite) has one. It’s where the team meets all too briefly in short breaks between a hectic schedule, to share snippets of conversation, touch base, keep connected.

A typical ‘fly on the wall’ experience may sound like this:

Dr.Martin looks up from the journal he’s skimming to say:

“Hmm… interesting. Wonder if it applies to kids too?”

Dr.Jones beside him glances at the title and says:

“Don’t think so. I read about it in the latest Annals last week.”

Across the room, nurse Jenny sips her coffee and looks at the door where nurse Anna waltzes in (she’s going off duty).

“There’s a sale on at Debenham’s. I got 3 pairs of these for 5 quid each.”

She points at her shoes. Jenny is interested.

“Wow. Cool. I’ll check it out.”

Sister Janet, browsing the newspaper in the corner of the lounge now speaks up.

“You’ll want this coupon then. It says 15% off on all shoes.”

Dr.Mark, the resident, dashes in and grabs a cup of coffee.

“Martin, we’re done in OR 2. When do you want to begin the next operation?”

Martin looks up.

“Right away. Can we go ahead?”

Dr.Spencer, the anaesthetist, speaks up:

“Give me 10 minutes. I’m waiting for an important call.”

A voice calls out from the doorway:

“What’s the score? Is Dhonee out yet?”

Eyes glance at the TV, and then Martin answers.

“Not yet. He’s going strong. Sure, Spencer, I’ll wait. Gives me time to finish this article.”

Another voice sounds from the door.

“Dr.Mark, you’re wanted in OR 3 right away”

Mark rushes out.

“Think this pink jacket would go well with the shoes?”

Jenny asks Anna, as they walk out of the room, pointing to the ad in the paper.

Now, look at just the conversation bits with my explanatory notes stripped away, and you’ll see how remarkably similar this looks to a typical Twitter screen.

Senseless snippets? Or meaningful conversation? Sales pitch? Education? Networking? Information? News? Updates?

Or EVERYTHING.

That’s Twitter, in a nutshell.

Can Twitter be used to make sales?

Yes.

Can Twitter be used to communicate?

Yes.

Can Twitter be used to drive web traffic?

Yes.

So you could view Twitter as a sales tool, a communications tool, a traffic generating tool or many other things.

But over and above everything else, Twitter is useful to socialize on the Web - remotely, electronically, virtually.

That’s why I look at it as more than merely ‘micro-blogging’ or ‘providing status updates’ or as tracking ‘what I’m doing’ at any time. Or even as more than ‘what has my attention’.

To me, Twitter is an invisible cord that CONNECTS me with people I follow - and people who follow me.

That connection can be leveraged in many different ways. But in a hectic online world, where I have very limited time to participate in ‘conversations’, Twitter provides a near-ideal solution by placing one simple constraint on participants.

You Can Use Only 140 Characters Each Time

And when your thinking is clear, 140 is more than enough!

Can you do without Twitter? Of course. Just as you could do without ‘The Coffee Room’ in a cardiac surgical operating suite.

But it would make ‘work’ feel harder, lonelier and monotonous than while networking with a vibrant, diverse, imaginative community - just for a little while, to relax and refresh your mind for the more serious stuff you do!

More interesting reading about Twitter:

• Ode to Twitter
• Newbie’s Guide to Twitter
• The Tao of Twitter
• How Twitter Made My Website Better
• Why is Twitter so successful?