“Our next caller is Bob from Ottawa. He has something to say about Twitter.”

“Hi Michael: longtime listener, first-time caller.

First off, I pay Senator Mike Duffy’s opinions on Twitter all the attention that someone who had a wonderful career as a journalist and then became a tiresome (dare I say banal) partisan patronage hack full of sound and fury, and signifying nothing, exactly the attention they deserve.

That being said, let’s take a look at what the banal drivel-purveying medium of Twitter has done. I’ll try to pick out Canadian examples.

The famous Tweeted photo of US Air 1549, breaking the news of the "Miracle on the Hudson"

It’s allowed journalists like Kady O’Malley to provide live updates on important committee hearings by live-tweeting, and journalists like Glen McGregor to do the same at important criminal trials.

It’s allowed Best Buy Canada to help customers with service issues better.

It’s become the goto site for breaking news. I constantly hear about things, from the earthquake in China, death of Michael Jackson to Jack Layton taking leave from the leadership of the NDP on Twitter significantly in advance of the mainstream media.

It’s become a business driver — Dell Computers, for example, created a single account to publicize its clearance specials. It’s generating millions per year from that account.

So for those who choose to use Twitter, and thanks to tools such as URL shorteners and hashtags, it can be a powerful — and occasionally even eloquent — communications tool. For those who choose to deride it (of course, without actually experiencing it), you won’t be missed.

Have a nice day. And if you want to learn about it, I’m teaching an intro to social media course at Algonquin College starting on Tuesday. See you there?”

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