I use Twitter and so should you

If you’re not already addictively twittering, then I’m sure you’ve at least heard about it by now. As it’s hard to miss my personal account @fourzerotwo which is syndicated on the left-side of this blog. Twitter is a micro-blogging (140 character limit to be exact) service, which allows you to make quick and easy updates regarding “What you’re doing”, wherever you are. With the help of web and mobile apps like Twitteriffic on iPhone or TwitPic online, you can also attach photos and GPS coordinates to your updates.

Simple concept that seems to be oddly polarizing for people. Either you totally get it or you are completely boggled by it’s usefulness. I for one, LOVE IT. It was literally my life-line for the 3-something weeks I was on vacation with no access to a computer.

I kept tabs on the Gaza Strip Conflict via CNN’s Breaking News twitter @CNNbrk , stayed in tune with some of my favorite bands as they went through the recording studio, via Bad Religion guitarist and Epitaph Records head-honcho Brett Gurewitz twitter @OblivionPact (which led to the official Epitaph twitter being made @EpitaphRecs), and kept up on Gaming specific news among many site’s Twitter feeds, including @Kotaku.

In short, Twitter has personalized, summerized, and made the internet intimate again. Providing me 140 character bursts of information every minute, straight to my phone / email / other device of my choosing albeit the fact it also helped to further destroy my already limited attention span - but honestly, who needs one of those in this day and age.

While I’ve obviously been using Twitter personally for quite sometime, I’ve finally launched an Official Infinity Ward Twitter @Infinity_Ward this past week. Which I plan to update strictly with PR friendly updates, studio news, job postings, and some free DLC codes every now and again.

(Download a custom Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare twitter background here)

Essentially, if you’re not on Twitter yet, you should be. As it’s quickly becoming THE place to source exclusive and raw news regarding just about anything, as well as giving a voyeurtastic look into the personal lives of just about anyone you could imagine, from @MCHammer to more gaming note-worthy @djaffe .

The big reason I mention it though, is because Twitter (specifically @fourzerotwo and @Infinity_Ward) are going to play a key role in getting quick and raw updates regarding the development of our future games. As I can easily update them with info, news, and even photos from anywhere I am at anytime. While @Infinity_Ward will be focused on top-level news, @fourzerotwo will be chockfull of a more personal look and more in-depth details throughout development of our future games.

So try it out, go to Twitter.com, sign-up, and start tweeting. You’d be surprised by the people who are interested in listening or the amount of people you’d be interested in following. To get you started, here are just a few of the people I find interesting to follow:

CNN Breaking News - @cnnbrk

Brett Guerwitz of Bad Religion / Epitaph Records - @OblivionPact

Felicia Day of The Guild / Dr. Horrible - @Feliciaday

Amazon Game Deal of the Day - @amazongames

Valve Software - @valvesoftware

Naughty Dog for Uncharted 2 updates - @naughty_dog

Jeff Gerstmann of Giant Bomb - @jeffgerstmann

Kotaku - @kotaku

Just to name a few of the 107 I actively follow.

Update: Sam “QforQ” Houston posted a comprehensive list of all the video game companies and people on Twitter for you to follow. Pretty handy resource for those new to twitter. Check it out here.

Tags: blogging, infinity ward, twitter, updates