Okay, so everybody is writing about Twitter. So, why not me?

I joined Twitter a few months ago but didn't do anything with it. I was just curious to see what the fuss was about, and back then the fuss wasn't nearly what it is now. It seemed like a complete mystery to me, so I neither tweeted nor followed.

Lately, pummeled by articles and solemn seminars about the business value of social media, I have begun to tweet. The phenomenon is still largely a mystery, but hanging out on the Twitter site a little is fascinating and certainly gives one the feeling there is something important going on.

Iran, of course, being the prime example. Twitter is giving the protesters a key tool to talk to each other and to the world at a time of momentous upheaval.

What is most interesting is that this, and many other, uses of Twitter were probably never envisioned by its creators. An article in Time says that most of the applications that extend Twitter's possibilities have been developed by users, not by the folks at Twitter. Is this a truly democratic event we're witnessing? And, at what point will Twitter try to make money from all this?

But I have a question on a more personal level.

Where do my followers come from? I have to admit that, each time I log onto my Twitter home page, I look to see if I have more followers. When I do, my heart pit-a-pats a little harder. Am I gathering a little fan club? I check. Aside from a few friends and relatives, most of the new followers I get appear to be small businesses attaching themselves to me, like barnacles to a boat, in the hopes that somehow I'll reciprocate and spend money with them. Some of these entrepreneurs are females, posting come-hither photos, phony names and invitations to view their latest hot party photos. Thank you, Twitter, for the "block" feature.

And, when I lose a follower, what does this mean? Should I take it personally? Were my tweets not interesting enough? Did I offend?

It's exciting to see the explosion of a technology with so much raw potential and promise, even if it creates an environment as wild and unregulated as much of the rest of the Internet.

As far as business potential, I suspect this is not a model that's going to be the salvation of my own business. But, in the meantime, I'll keep tweeting occasionally, monitoring the thoughts of a few intriguing twitizens, keep blocking unwelcome followers, and waiting to see what happens.

Paul Wesman