A better interface is no joking matter!

A better interface is no joking matter!

How do I know if someone’s talking to me? I look for my name. Who doesn’t? That’s why I was so pleased to see that Twitter changed the sidebar menu from @Replies to @Username this morning. This change makes a lot of sense, particularly for new users who don’t know that @ = reply.

Oh, and if you’re not following me on Twitter, you have two chances: @zesmerelda & @chicagobites!

Twitter’s been rolling out some great user interface and design changes lately. I look forward to seeing what they do next.

Mar 092009

I don’t know about you, but Twitter has changed the way I prep for conferences, especially SXSW. Instead of combing through the Film & Interactive schedule, I’m listening for hot panel sessions, interesting films, and the people who are creating the buzz. Twitter search is a handy tool for finding what to do, where to go and who to follow.

SXSW has integrated Twitter with their attendee list, so I can check for people I follow through Twitter and add them to the SXSW messaging tool. If you’re logged into My SXSW, you’ll see a toolbox with a search for Twitter & Facebook in a yellow box on the right. I don’t know if this will be useful yet, but it might be a more convenient way to sift through the normal noise on Twitter for conference-specific chatter. I can’t help the people on Twitter who aren’t attending the conference — there’s going to be a huge SXSW spike that starts on Friday. Sorry!

Even before these tools, Twitter changed how I found connections. Last week, all Chicago attendees were invited to a SXSW/Twitter/Facebook gathering at a local bar so we’d know each other on sight. I diligently followed the new local contacts & created a group in Tweetdeck, so I could have a Chicago-specific conference channel.

I also added Brightkite, Twitpic, and Twitter numbers/email addresses in my new phone, as well as a Twitter client.

In short, I’ve done all the prepping to find, follow, monitor and publish via Twitter for my week in Texas! I’ll let you know if it enhances my conference experience or merely adds noise. Could go either way.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking of Twitter as merely an online social networking service.  Oh sure, its focus is online, but its value to me is how Twitter facilitates real-world networking.

Take last night’s Tech Cocktail event as an example.  I knew several people  in the room virtually through their Twitter stream, which gave me an instant opening to talk to them.  I could intelligently discuss events and issues in their lives, which gave the conversation more depth than you usually have at a networking event. And because I also knew people through previous tweet-ups, I had a fun group to hang out with when the crowd got too thick to navigate.

Twitter continues to open doors, and I think this will only continue as more people migrate to the service and our local network expands.  Had a similar experience?  Leave a comment or follow me on Twitter.

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