I’ve been using twitter for many months now. Not only has it been a great tool to help me keep track of my co-workers, but it’s also been an interesting and useful tool in my recruiting activities. I can track certain keywords (”recruiter,” “.NET,” “Java,” etc.), and follow up on people who I think might make interesting candidates. I can also keep up-to-date on breaking news and fun facts by following people like Guy Kawasaki (twitter id: guykawasaki, if you’re interested). Today, I spent several minutes venting my frustrations about Webkinz on twitter. Next up: Whirlpool Appliances (they won’t be happy!). If you’re interested in what I have to say on twitter, feel free to follow me - my id (of course!) is txaggie94. (Gig ‘em Aggies! Beat the Hell Outta Penn State! WHOOP!)

I’ve gone completely off-topic again. Sheesh. Back to the point…

Today, I ran across a post by Michael Specht, an Aussie blogger with a really cool graph (that he snagged from cogdogblog.com) that I can use to explain twitdiction:

The “????” is what I call twitdiction.

Twitdiction occurs when someone completely gives control of their lives to twitter. They send a tweet when they leave in the morning. They send a tweet when they sit in traffic. They send a tweet from the train. They send a tweet from every meeting. They send a tweet when they go to lunch. They send a tweet when they head home. They send tweets about their kids, pets, and better halves. They send angry tweets when the grocery store is out of Vegemite. In short, twitter has taken hold of their lives (and their mobile devices), and refuses to give it back.

But twitdiction isn’t all bad. Look at me, for example. I am constantly checking my twitter updates page to see if there are any fresh candidates out there for me to contact. While I have yet to hire anyone via twitter, I have developed relationships with folks that I would consider hiring if they lived in NYC. So, I am building up my weak ties network, with the full expectation that it will serve me well in the future. Twitter is helping me to be more effective (in the long run) at my job.

So, I like that people are taking notice of twitter. Twitter is an interesting tool, and, like Michael points out, it is utterly and completely useless if you don’t have friends on twitter. But, if you do have friends, and if you know how to track items of interest, twitter can be twitdictive.  And TWIT-TASTIC!  ;)