Twitter (as used by Susan Orlean)

Like many others I have some concerns about Twitter and its impact on how people flesh out ideas, particularly when only 140 characters are allowed. In a recent post on PBS's MediaShift website Simon Owens discusses how New Yorker writer, Susan Orlean, uses Twitter. Orlean discusses how when she first got a Twitter account she didn't really understand the purpose of it, but after a few years she figured out how to use the platform to develop a type of back-and-forth with her readers. She describes it as an "ongoing Q&A session." It provided her with a mechanism for staying in contact with readers between New Yorker pieces and while working on books. Before Twitter she could go months without publishing anything, however Twitter allows her to stay in contact with the world and keep them up-to-date on her work. Perhaps Twitter can allow for dialogue in a way that is more purposeful than 140 characters may lead one to believe. However, my guess is that those who engage and follow Orlean, and Orlean herself, are likely to find ways to engage in meaningful dialogue with or without Twitter. This platform just happens to be the current forum for exchange. Nevertheless, any mechanism for allowing journalists and writers to connect with readers and introduce them to their work must serve some greater purpose.