Tweet tweet.

I hate the word Twitter. I hate the verb tweet even more. I also don't like the verb blog. Why do all tech words sound like they're uttered by 2 ft alien munchkins? I just can't take myself seriously when I utter those words.

Nonetheless.

I love Twitter. I was hesitant at first about jumping on the bandwagon, especially because I'm usually not one to have my finger on the pulse of pop culture. However, Twitter has opened up to me for 2 big reasons:

1. It is the greatest way to voice a complaint against a company. I have bitched (nicely and respectfully) to NYC MTA, LA County Voter's Registration Office, and Orbitz and have gotten immediate responses to fix any issues I've had. I would have never gotten that kind of attention if I had left a comment or sent an email.

2. It has given my (brief) direct contact to people I admire from afar. My first celebrity @reply was from Mark Bittman, who is one of my favorite cookbook writers and columnist from the NY Times. I have gotten someone friendly with a blogger from my FAVORITE food blog Seriouseats.com. Today, I got a direct @reply from one of my biggest friend-crush of all time - Mr. Jay Smooth at Underground Railroad on WBAI radio station. The are all really little moments, but it makes me feel that much closer to these people I look up to.

There are other reasons why I think Twitter is amazing. When the Iran protest happened after the fraud election, seeing Iranian tweets all over Twitter sent shivers down my spine. It has also allowed me to stay in touch with some dear friends. I also like that not everyone in my personal network is following me on Twitter, which allows me to be a little more open and constant with my updates. (I do still use discretion...)

Anyhoo, the joy of getting an @reply from Jay Smooth triggered this post tonight. It makes me giddy that his @reply to me is still his latest update. I'm going to go to bed with that small happiness!