This recent posting on Techcrunch, much maligned for their Twitter obsession, caught my eye.

• Jump into the Stream

I don’t think this ‘streaming’ aspect of the Web is a fundamental as portrayed here – rather just an emerging new corner.  But definitely a permanent feature.  But the idea here of how you jump into the stream through apps like Twitter is key.

The portrayal of “the streaming Web” as some next big wave is off-base, however.   Anyone who uses the Web has already been drinking at this fire hydrant for years already.  Twitter just represents the next level of the democratization of communication that the Web was always about.

What is missed here, however, is perspective.  There is a big difference between information and knowledge.  Twitter is information – another input into a massive and overwhelming stream of data we are all now exposed to.   As all this streams past us, mostly it just becomes noise.  Simply dipping into it from time to time may give you a thrill, but it has no ultimate purpose or value.

Knowledge, on the other hand, involves digesting information so that it becomes understandable and actionable.  My bias is to technologies, products & services that help to organize information, give it relevance and context to the individuals or community that receive it.

So, is Twitter a useful addition to the marketing & communications tool bag (particularly for Celebrities but also for CRM at the corporate level)?  Absolutely.   Transformative?  Absolutely not.