TOM MAST

Star-Tribune

Pear Analytics of San Antonio determined in a recent study that much of what happens on Twitter is pretty lame.

Twitter, you probably know, is a social networking site which aims to answer the question, "What are you doing now?" in 140 characters or less.

Pear Analytics concluded that over 40 percent of the messages on Twitter, called "tweets," are "pointless babble." Many such tweets are along the lines of simple statements like "I am going to work now."

Another 37 percent were rated as conversation - meaning there was at least some give-and-take, and perhaps an occasional question.

According to Quantcast.com, a majority of Twitter users are female, a finding about which I will render no judgment. A plurality of users also were young people, ages 18 to 34.

Now you might anticipate that here begins a condescending screed against the inanity of Twitter, from which you could conclude I am stuck in a retro-time warp and hopelessly out of touch with today's 20-somethings.

Even though you'd be right in your conclusion, you'd be wrong about my intention.

Actually, we all engage in lots of babble, if not entirely pointless, then not altogether essential for human life. Gossip is a billion-dollar industry. Does it really matter if Jen and Brad were seen secretly smooching in the parking lot, or what Angelina might think about anything?

In a curious way, pointless chatter often helps contextualize. A story about a trip to the grocery store may yield little information worth remembering, but it might provide useful insights about attitude. "Hate shopping for cat food," might say more about one's fitness as a pet owner than the difference between Purina and Iams.

Or think about a young fella mustering the courage to talk to a pretty girl at a summer dance. The actual words, in the end, may mean less than the context, whether the general impact of eye gaze and voice tone are pleasing, and ultimately, whether the girl "likes him," even if she mostly forgets what he says.

In much the same way, tweets like "Good night all," have an strangely endearing quality, even if you don't know the person. Something like a sign off from the "Waltons" in cyberspace.

Of course, Twitter is not all babble and idle chatter. The report also found Twitter contains lesser proportions of e-mail spam, self-promotion related products and services, and even news.

Twitter even proved useful to the people of Iran in getting word out about street protests in the wake of that nation's rigged elections.

But those are exceptional circumstances. In the main, Twitter is frivolous. But really, I'm OK with that.

Business Editor Tom Mast can be reached at tom.mast@trib.com, or call 307-266-0574. Or check out his "Two Bits Worth" blog at tribtown.trib.com/TomMast/blog