Twitter Metaphors

Photo from Lynetter's Flickr Stream and discovered via Twitter from Cogdog

That was one of gems I found while taking a quick twitter break. How, if at all, do we transform this metaphor to nonprofits?   

Twitter is like hanging around the water cooler with your colleagues from different offices, while reading blogs is like attending a seminar on a professional topic where there is an opportunity to discuss the topic with your peers.    (Maybe there is no analogy for nonprofits ... since water cooler time might be considering "wasting time" and taking time away from doing work to learn something isn't work .... I'm still thinking about that post from Michelle Martin about learning making you less productive ...)

I also found Bryan Person's presentation notes about Twitter from last Thursday's Berkman Blogger Meetup that I couldn't attend.   

Twitter is like laying on your back in a field and watching clouds become shapes, animals and people all with their own personalities.

Comments

[David Brazeal]

How about this:

Twitter is a business lunch with co-workers and colleagues, and blogging is a formal meeting with the same people.

[Gordon R. Vaughan]

Hi, found this post from Twitter. I wrote last week on my blog All Things:

"Twitter is asynchronous instant messaging for adults."

Beyond that, I'd also say it's a great platform for announcements (e.g. new blog posts or status updates), breaking news, sharing links of interest, and coordinating groups at events.

I'm curious what else folks will do with it!

[catepol]

I wrote a post time ago on Twitter (sorry but it is in Italian)...
For me Twitter is a "neverending present continous"...this was the metaphore I used