What's Wrong With People? (and a discussion on Twitter)

So, I get an e-mail tonight that Tianalynn81 is following me on Twitter. I think, "oh, okay. cool."

But then I click on Tianalynn81's Twitter page to see what she tweets about. Here's what I find:

Click to enlarge if you can't see what Tianalynn81 is tweeting about.

Ummm... what? One tweet and it's about how you wished you'd... err... done something naughty to the recently-deceased director of iconic 80's movies such as The Breakfast Club and Sixteen Candles. Yeah, no thank you. I think I'd rather not follow you and your bizarro wish-you'd-done-bad-things-to-celebrities tweets.

I suppose this plays into several discussions I've had lately with friends about Twitter. My sister (Anna), for some reason, thinks Twitter is for old people. I hear a lot of friends ask, "What is Twitter for anyway?" For me, I enjoy reading what people post about restaurants and food, shopping deals, music, breaking news, fashion and a teeny bit about technology. It's cool that anyone can find their niche on Twitter, tapping into about any obscure topic they're interested in.

But then I feel there are less-than-awesome uses of Twitter updates. I, too, am guilty of occasionally using Twitter like a facebook status update, even though I generally find that mildly annoying. I mean, I'm proud of a friend for going to the gym or for feeling the need to shout "TGIF" in 140 characters or less, but I sure don't find that very informative or facilitating to a two-way dialogue.

I'm curious to hear others' thoughts on Twitter. Why do you tweet? Why do you choose not to tweet? Go forth. Discuss.