Back in MN, cypress mulch is my life.

I finally made it back to good old Minnesota earlier this week, and it’s been a great change-up from the city life of D.C. A little different to be out working in the yard rather than spending every working hour in front of a computer, but I should be able to handle it.

Since I’ve gotten back, though, I’ve already had a pair of conversations with friends from home who don’t use Twitter, and don’t understand why it’s useful. I’ve tried to explain how Twitter can be used for great professional benefit, rather than the more personal benefit that Facebook offers, but I haven’t gotten a great response. I’m confident that if everyone gave Twitter a try (and used it correctly), they’d see the value. But being back in Minneapolis makes me wonder if some people just aren’t cut out for it.

That said, everyone I follow these days is journalism/web/D.C.-based. Anyone know of any good Minneapolis people, businesses or organizations to follow?

But even as Twitter links to local media’s video and photos came in droves, the more interesting part of the whole situation wasn’t how Twitter directed viewers to other coverage in mainstream media sites. Rather, the most remarkable part for me was the amount of public service tweeting going on. Has that term been coined yet? I’ll take credit for now.

Even the rarest D.C.-based tweeters in my list of followers were spreading the word: Stay away from the Metro. It seems to me that Twitter was being used to ensure that people knew what had happened, not just for their own knowledge, but to keep people out of the Metro system and make sure a bad situation didn’t get worse. I guess I can’t be certain what each person’s intentions were, but that’s what it looked like to me.

Have there been other notable instances of public service tweeting? I’m sure I missed one. Point it out if you know of any.

Used under a Creative Commoms license via Gary Hayes

That was the question du jour at the Poynter chat I attended today. I hadn’t participated in one before today, but when I heard about it (via Twitter, of course), it seemed like it’d be a gathering of the top young minds talking about Twitter, Facebook, and the like. It was.

There were plenty of good points made, but guest host Greg Linch had an interesting answer to the one question I asked: With Twitter taking over as the premier social network, how can you still use Facebook to your benefit?

Says Greg:

I think Facebook is still very relevant, but for different reasons. I don’t find it nearly as useful as Twitter on a day-to-day basis, but I think it’s an important long-term tool for keeping in touch with friends and longer-form communication.

A good point indeed. Facebook is the primary way I keep in touch with friends from across the country, and my Twitter habits are much more professionally-based. It does beg the question, though: If Facebook is more of a personal-life app, then what’s the point of a newspaper (or other company) having a fan page? I get my news via Twitter/RSS – an additional redundancy seems a little much.

As for how much is too much, I gotta think it varies person to person. If it distracts you or in any way prevents you from accomplishing your goals in the analog world, then it’s no good. But used as a proper digital tool, it should actually be a boost for professional/personal productivity and advancement. Agreed?