Why Twitter Matters to Wells County

Twitter. You might have heard me mention it, or you might have heard about it from a friend. It's all the rage in places where people like to stay in touch.

That's all it is really: a simple communication tool. No frills, no fancy banners or buttons or complicated downloads to keep track of. Just type a few words, press send and communicate your message.

How it can help the folks of Wells County is even simpler: It can help strengthen our community by bringing us together.

Let's face it, we don't hang out together the way folks once did. On front porches and at neighborhood barbecues residents came together and interacted. They got to know one another because they ate together, had a few laughs and talked for a while.
There were no strangers.

We all miss those days. We try to recreate them as best we can with the annual street fair and an occasional bean supper, but it's not the same.
We want the Cheers! experience ("Norm!") when we walk in the supper market or stop at the Pak-A-Sak.

The way to create that experience is to rebuild our community one relationship at a time. Twitter makes that possible.

Most people lead very busy lives that don't allow them enough time to sit around and chit-chat with pals the way we used to; no more hanging out at the barbershop or video store for hours at a time.
But those same people most likely carry cell phones or some sort of Internet accessible device that allows them to send and receive text messages.
Ah-ha!

Sign up for a free Twitter account, get your friends to do the same; Follow one another and Presto! you're interconnected.

Messages are intended to be brief: "I just saw gas for $1.95 a gallon at pak-a-sak!" or "I'm taking the kids to Dairy Queen for sundaes" or "I need a good mechanic-know anyone?"

Whatever is on your mind; whatever you might say to your best friend if they were standing right next to you all day. That's what Twitter is great for--keeping us in touch with one another.
The beauty of Twitter is we only Follow the people we choose to Follow -- so no spam! And Tweets can be kept private so your conversation can be kept private too.

The Internet is a big, big place. It's easy to become overwhelmed by everything it offers and confused or wary at the same time.
Monday I am meeting with United Way of Wells County. Together we hope to create a group, a movement perhaps is a better word, toward increased Internet awareness for all Wells County residents. We want to schedule regular meetings to talk about the latest 'Net innovations and general social networking. We also want to bring in experts to talk about the more intricate details of the ever-changing World Wide Web.

We want your input and we want your support; we want your involvement on some level, whatever level that may be.

So, Follow us on Twitter or Follow UnitedWayWells; or come to a Tweet-Up and see what it's all about.