Why I Love the Twitter Water Cooler

Yesterday, a follower of mine on Twitter asked if the application was social media, and if not what was it? The first half of the question seemed to have a quite obvious answer (yes. duh.), but the second part got me thinking about the value-add of Twitter in my life.

Most social media, by the definition of the term, allow anybody to reach out to the greater world and involve themselves in communities and causes and communication. You can learn about anything that strikes your interest or furthers your work, and see what other people think about those things. You can share news and links and opinions, and people you've never even met can read them and comment....and a conversation can develop. But Twitter is unique in the social media world because it enables that conversation much more organically and quickly than other forms. Its 140-character limit requires concise points, and just enough internal editing (for most) that you have to think a little bit about what you're going to say - but not so much that it's not authentic. And its portability through various third-party mobile apps makes it something you can do at almost any time.

I'm a very social person generally speaking. Currently, I'm also a communications consultant, though I've spent many years in bricks-and-mortar communities where conversation just happened every day, naturally and regularly. What I miss most about actually working for a company and going to the same place every day is the camaraderie of coworkers and those few minutes spent in the hallway talking about kids and weekends or after meetings delving deeper into a problem or issue. I miss the "water cooler." I have never in my life actually gathered around one (the coffee machine, maybe), but I miss the chatter and the connection with people who share a common cause. I miss learning about other people and what makes them tick. I miss the team concept of tackling a problem and honoring other insights. I miss the awesome little surprises about coworkers, when you find out someone you thought was nothing like you shares a passion for reading, or when someone you barely know compliments you on your work or gives you an opportunity for learning.

It's lonely out here in the work-from-home world, if you don't work at it. There's peace and quiet when you need to focus on something, and there's the ability to stay in your jammies and put off showering until 4 p.m. if you don't have to meet with a client, and there's the flexibility to sit in the sun in the middle of a conference call. But there's a big downside, too, if you're at your best when connecting with others.

The last time in my circuitous work path that I did the consulting gig, despite all the benefits, I couldn't wait to get out of it, to be around people all the time instead of just a couple of times a week. I'm a pretty high-energy, impatient person. In the real world, when I start a conversation, I want to know people are listening to me. And when I want to get involved with a current one, I don't always want to have to wait for a response. My impatience for lags in conversation extends to the virtual world in many ways. I often get frustrated waiting for bloggers or their readers to check the comments and rebut or agree, for example. I want real people involved, right now.

So now I use Twitter as my water cooler. Much like a physical workplace, it's a vibrant, diverse, community that gives me the perfect mix of business and information and personal connection. I can stick my head over a professional follower's virtual cube and get a quick and dirty new perspective on a project. I can ask local tweeps if they know a really good mechanic, if they've eaten at a certain restaurant and what the food's like, or where the best place is to buy locally grown produce. I can chat about the books I've read and get recommendations from other readers. I can get into heated political conversations with both those who share my views and those who don't. And all of it is at my fingertips (or my thumbs, if I'm on the BlackBerry), any time I want or need that water cooler break.

I know not everybody uses Twitter this way -- there's certainly a bunch of accounts out there that just want to sell something or collect as many followers as possible or otherwise feed their narcissism. But I am genuinely interested in everyone I follow, and I learn a ton every day. I want to bring them the same kind of value I receive from them, to engage in conversation and to interact and build actual relationships with real people. Twitter keeps me sane and happy and smart in what could be -- has been in the past -- a lonely profession. I sincerely hope I'm a small part of the solution for some of them, too.

So for the freelancers, the writers, the consultants and the telecommuters out there who are feeling alone and missing that daily water-cooler connection, I offer a solution for a virtual one that has all the rewards of the real-life, burbly one. And for those of you already in my Twitter circle, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

(You can be part of April's water cooler on Twitter by following @aprilschilpp)