I know I haven’t been posting all that much here … I have been spending most of my time over at my PSU Blog getting ready for the launch of the Blogs at Penn State project. Just today, Brad Kozlek setup about 100 users to extend the pilot offering … it is getting crazy. I am predicting a solid Fall turnout — maybe a 1,000 PSU Blog bloggers on campus. I have no idea what students will do, but I bet over a two year cycle there will be some nice traction. Either way, keep an eye here for a big post exposing the whole process — from selection of tools to rollout strategy. It does feel very gratifying to know we are on the verge of potentially changing he way faculty, staff, and students perceive web publishing.

Ok, on to the topic of the post. My use of Twitter has been reduced to a few tweets per day … I think that is a result of a very busy schedule and a bit of personal backlash towards transparency. I’ve been trying to focus on a less is more strategy as I organize my thoughts for a couple of speaking opportunities that have come my way … trying very hard to organize all these random thoughts into a not so random stream of thinking for an audience is something I haven’t had to do in a year or so. I have spent a ton of time working my space here on campus and haven’t ventured out to give many talks other than a web 2.0 infrastructure talk at Apple a few months back — and to tell you the truth that was 9/10th briefing and not so much a talk. Anyway, back to the topic … am I rambling again?

I have noticed that Twitter is evolving a bit. I have been noticing for quite some time that those people who have been a part of the Twitter stream for several months are changing the way they are using he environment. Most of the people I talk to are saying things like, “I am using Twitter in a more intelligent way …” I would have to agree that I am finding real value in Twitter that I didn’t expect in the early days of my lustful utilization. Allan Levine has an amazing piece of infoporn that describes the typical lifecycle of Twitter use … I am completely there with him on that.

I am seeing more and more people use it to invoke conversation between individuals and within a community. I am seeing that many of the people in my friends list are always keeping either Twitter itself or Twitterific open all the time … stalking tweets to gain inspiration from their trusted sources or direct pointers to things that must be explored. Last night while watching a few new friends move up the Levine Twitter Law Curve I saw a new feature emerge — the “in response to” tag under a tweet. This to me signifies a new realization on the part of the Twitter developers that this tool can serve as a powerful organizational/friend/social communication tool. They have essentially invoked public IM in a way I never thought people would want to engage in. Conversations can now be part of a massive broadcast or directed to an individual — but both are in the open. Is this the result of the whole open, connected, and social space many of us are trying so hard to be a part of or is it simply an ego trip — is it simply an, “I want everyone to see my thoughts” trip? At the end of the day, my blog is open to everyone, but the way Twitter works it feels (and potentially is) tied more directly to the community I am a part of. No idea, but I am interested in the thoughts out there … maybe I should have Tweeted this — oh wait, the Twitter WP plugin will do that for me.