I just picked up the December issue of Monocle. A hefty publication which covers everything from politics, affairs, business, culture and style. In its Forecast for 2010, the magazine lists the twenty people who deserve a bigger stage and the five who do not. I agree with the unwanted five list, bar one.

The five most unwanted are:
1) The lazy linguist: people who use ‘reaching out’ and other redundant clichés. As a member of the Royal Society of Pedants, I agree!
2) Larry King & Co: US broadcasts are populated by Walter Cronkite wannabes.
3) Joseph Kony: The International Criminal Court has an arrest warrant for him.
4) Twitter: I will come back to this later.
5) Hamid Karzai: Need I say more?

So about Twitter. Sometime ago I was told teens don’t tweet. I read up, and then signed up. While I have not been hooked into the glories of Twitter yet, as I am waiting for the new blog and site to be designed and up and running. (Have seen the design template and its looking good!). I will give Twitter a chance. I do realise it is not for everybody, and some people just do not know how to best use new social media technology. I have no desire in reading if you are having coffee or doing your laundry or other menial chores which make you remotely human. I am more concerned about the sharing of ideas, concepts, debates and discussions. So while did at one stage write off Twitter, I am looking into it. Who knows, maybe in 2010 it might so 18 minutes ago or it might be the thing to do (again).

Twitter
We’re all for advanced forms of communication and robust brand building but every new media channel has its time and Twitter moved into its 16th minute long ago. Twitter might have stayed off this page had lazy media news organisations not turned it into cheap filler to replace meaningful content and had older, wiser individuals not employed it as the digital version of a face and bum lift. This magazine’s editor summed it up best when he told a CNN anchor, When you look at old media brands and the way they are using Twitter its like seeing some old guy walk down the road with a young bimbo on his arm its that uncomfortable a relationship. They just don’t understand each other.

Monocle verdict: There is a kind of social media that really works for business and play. It’s called having a glass of wine. - Monocle, issue 29, vol 3, December 2009.