Alas, poor Twitter. I know him.

The Mars rover Curiosity has its own Twitter account, @MarsCuriosity.

The Huntsville Times was kind enough to include me in a recent story on the Mars rover Curiosity and Twitter. The exploratory lab is hurtling through the cosmos, scheduled to land on the red planet on Aug. 5.

A team at NASA tweets on behalf of @MarsCuriosity, giving the rover personality and helping tweeps with info on the mission.

When asked about whether Twitter, with its popularity among celebrities and its ability to break news instantly, was winning the social media wars, I said:

“Twitter is an incredibly useful service for interacting with people on Earth and floating around it now. But it will never be king of the social media channels, given its odd interface and tough selling proposition.”

(For the record, I did not agree with the previous “expert,” as stated in the article.)

So why do I love Twitter so much despite its runner-up status? It really is like a club. Anyone can join, but until you can decode the inner workings, it will always seem pointless and stupid to the casual observer.

Twitter is perfect for news junkies, for chatty folk and for wasting time, among other pursuits. I excel at these things, by the way. Those businesses that can share interesting info and engage fans will gain more customers than through a Facebook page.

And when done right, it can open people’s minds to the wonders of the universe, tweet by cosmic tweet.

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Want to chat on Twitter with me?
Follow or message me at @WadeOnTweets.