10 reasons why using Twitter is NOT wasting time

Its funny: Just recently I read an article by the Scobleizer that Google Wave may be a waste of time because it's a information overload. People say the same about Twitter, that it's a waste of time to read tweets like "had coffee". It may also a waste of time to tell everyone that you are on the way to work now.

That might be true, but that's nothing to do with Twitter. It's about using it. Cruising a car through the city might be senseless, but is that a reason to argue against cars at all?

So here are 10 reasons why using twitter is NOT a waste of time.

1. It's probably the shortest way of information on the internet. Just 140 characters. Less than news articles and blogposts.

2. It's all about information. You follow the right people, you get the fastest newsstream ever in real time.

3. It reflects real life: Chitchating might be a waste of time, but we do it because we need it.

4. Even "Have coffee" might be a useful information. Means also this person isn't busy so you can call him or her, or that he/she is a person who knows that a break is something you refresh yourself.

5. You switch in on: Don't want to get disturbed, don't read it. It's that easy.

6. Be careful who you follow: You may not want to give your phone to all the marketing companies in the world, because their aggressive marketing sucks. So why follow these guys (or something similar ) on twitter?

7. Tweets like "Doing nothing" are first wrong, because writing this is something, and second are a waste of twitter. But that's your problem, not twitters. Just post something interesting.

8. It's a real time Google: If you need information about any even in real time, twitter might be the best tool available for that. That actually leads to

9. It's all about filters: Just set up different filters for important stuff on twitter, narrow down people they are more interesting, look for certain keywords you may want to monitor.

10. It's your time, not twitters time. Nobody forces you. Come on, be a bit more self responsible and don't cry for mums help just because you follow techcrunch and robert scoble.