Twitter this, twitter that

So things have obviously been a-buzz in the office as of late, what with film festivals and fashion week and awards shows to cover. Oh, awards shows. If there's one thing to be learned from the entire Kanye debacle (okay, so there's many things to be learned from the incident, but this one tops them somehow), it's that people are really starting to recognize the power of Twitter - and the dangers of it too.

It's a pretty interesting concept, being able to read all the reactions as they unfolded, both those of the celebrities in the audience and those of the people watching the show from back home. There's less of a filter that way, and as a result, I think people make themselves equal parts accessible and vulnerable.

Katy Perry saying that what Kanye did was the equivalent of "stepping on kittens" was pretty dang funny; reporters prematurely tweeting that the President called him a jackass, though, made me wonder about how careless Twittering might blur lines that are already poorly drawn.

Twittering, for what it's worth, humanizes people. When Joe the Plumber is Tweeting about his latest sandwich invention, Joe Zee of Elle could be Twittering his own thoughts on the latest Derek Lam collection at the same time. And people would actually want to read both. So I guess it's a good thing, being able to directly "talk to" your favorite musicians, actors, comedians. But once it gets to be politicians and bigger public figures who have a distinct public persona to keep up? Then it gets tricky.

Long story short, I never used to understand the point of Twitter. But now, I'm intrigued.