There have been more than a few that have likened Twitter as to being a "slow instant messenger." Yes, the term is an oxymoron, but it fits in this context. Some liken it as turn based messaging of sorts.

See, the deal is that Twitter doesn’t act like IM, nor does it act like email. It’s somewhere in between.

The best way to use Twitter as a messenger is to use a client. There are many to choose from. You could use the web-based way of doing it, but there’s a bit of manual involvement (i.e. clicking the @ for your username).

There are three types of messages that can be posted.

1. Public, addressed to nobody in particular (ex: a generic status update such as, "I’m watching television.")
2. Public reply, where your message includes one or more Twitter users prefixed by the @ symbol (ex: @PCMech I like your site!)
3. Direct message, which is private user-to-user only. This is done by starting your message with a d, then the username of the user you want the message to go to. It doesn’t require the @ symbol (ex: d PCMech example message here). It should be noted that for direct messages, the recipient is also notified via email.

How to use Twitter as a "slow" instant messenger?

The people you follow who follow you back is your "buddy list" of sorts. Send a public reply or direct. Just remember that it’s not real-time like IM is.

How to integrate Twitter with Facebook?

Use this Facebook application. Public status updates to your Twitter account will be posted in your Facebook as well (but not replies or direct messages).

Does PCMech have a Twitter account?

Yes. If you couldn’t tell by the above, our Twitter account is @PCMech. Note that you don’t need the @ symbol to follow. Whenever you’re writing about other people’s Twitter accounts, the standard procedure is to include the @ when linking it. Why this is I have no idea, but that’s how it’s done. I’m guessing that you do it because it’s easy to tell what it is just by the visual.

Do PCMech people have Twitter accounts?

Absolutely.

David Risley: @DavidRisley
Rich Menga: @RichMenga
Lisa Morosky: @LisaMorosky

Why are people gravitating towards "slow" instant messaging in this fashion?

Here’s five good reasons.

1. Operates by username.

Over the course of internet history, one universal truth is that people just plain forget other people’s email addresses all the time. Not so with usernames.

If you want to know why people forget addresses constantly, it’s due to the domain and TLD. For example, if you say to someone, "My email address is example@yahoo.com", chances are high it will be remembered because the yahoo.com domain is widely known. But if you said, "My email address is example@example.org", chances are low it will be remembered. Not only does it use a domain people don’t know, but also uses a TLD (the dot-org) that is sure to be forgotten.

With Twitter, all I have to say is "RichMenga". That’s it. No domain. No TLD. I don’t have to email them first so they can add me to their address book. I don’t have to correct anybody and say, "No, no.. it’s dot-ORG, not dot-COM.." The username way of doing it is far better and easier.

2. Eliminates the need to hide.

Some people simply do not want others to know when they’re online. This is the reason why instant messengers all have "stealth" and "invisible" features. But then comes the point where you want some to know when you’re on and others not. In the Yahoo! Messenger this is called a "stealth" feature. It is decidedly annoying to use.

Twitter has no ability, nor will it ever (I hope) to let anybody know if you’re actually sitting in front of your computer or not.

This is a huge sigh of relief for many. You can message to your heart’s content without anybody keeping tabs on you (other than what you post).

3. The "slow" nature makes for a much better messaging experience.

Instant messaging is and always has been a very in-your-face thing. For many this is the exact reason why they don’t use it. There are lots of folks that absolutely do not want message windows jumping at them (which all IM apps do by default unless you configure otherwise), nor do they want messages such as, "Hello? Hello? HELLOOOOO ARE YOU THERE?" It can get very annoying quickly.

You avoid all the worst parts of instant messaging by using Twitter.

4. Plain text was always the best way to communicate.

In Twitter there aren’t any emoticons, sound effects, rich text, colored text, bold/italic/underline, backgrounds, file transfers or anything else like that. Nothing but beautiful raw text.

Never will you see some jackass using the Comic Sans font in Twitter, because yes, Comic Sans sucks that much. Instead you can view Twitter updates in whatever font you want in a client. That’s a huge score for usability.

5. Extremely portable

Messaging of this type works anywhere. In the browser, in the app, in the cell phone. Only very recently has IM graduated to the browser in a way that’s usable (ex: within web-based mail), but it’s too little too late. On cell phones IM still isn’t as easy as Twitter. IM is best suited using a program specifically designed for the protocol. But as of late more people are drawing away from that since all IM major-player programs for the protocols are so unbelievably bloated, whereas Twitter is very slim and trim.

The Big Question: Is Twitter the new instant messenger?

I say yes.

What do you think?