Twitter - like many emergent genres of social media - is structured around networks of people interacting with people they know or find interesting. Those who are truly performing to broad audiences (e.g., "celebs", corporations, news entities, and high-profile blogger types) are consciously crafting consumable content that doesn't require actually having an intimate engagement with the person to appreciate. Yet, the vast majority of Twitter users are there to maintain social relations, keep up with friends and acquaintances, follow high-profile users, and otherwise connect. It's all about shared intimacy that is of no value to a third-party ear who doesn't know the person babbling.
take a look at some of the most compelling new sites that have launched in just the few short months since President Obama took office: * Data.gov, providing open access to feeds of valuable facts and figures generated by the executive branch. * USAspending.gov, allowing any of us to drill down into the details of spending from various federal agencies. * Recovery.gov, perhaps one of the best-known of the new sites, offering up details of how resources from the Recovery Act are being allocated. * And of course, there's WhiteHouse.gov. You know about that one. What's remarkable about these sites is not merely that they exist