Twitter Outgrows Narcissistic Phase

Don't write off Twitter as a mere time-wasting self-promotion toy, David Chartier writes in Ars Technica. Users have adapted the microblogging tool to business, government, and even art, pushing 140-character posts beyond "what I had for lunch today." Some innovative Twitter accounts include Comcast, which tracks customer service issues, and an Arizona police department that reports important bulletins in real time.

Dell, Carnival Cruise Lines, and Amazon have also joined the "Twittersphere," while a group of authors is busy writing a "Twiller"—a fictional thriller composed one post at a time. And Chartier says it won't stop there: "As consumers, businesses, and even government bodies begin to experiment with Twitter … it becomes clear that the service is here to stay." (More Twitter stories.)