Website Reviews 30 Mar

Gawker
www.gawker.com

When does a trend become a bandwagon? When does a scoop become old news? Answer: in the time it takes the average person to type 140 characters.

Yes, back on planet Twitter it's been a busy old week (and it's only Monday). It seems that Twitter has exploded and it's no longer a novelty to tweet (or twit as someone mistweeted themselves recently, to coin a phrase). Twitter is everywhere. Follow me on Twitter is this years must have accessory for all discerning websites.

Crossing over into mass media is no bad thing - it speaks to the utility value of the medium and the passion people have for it. Like text messaging, I predict this will run and run. It's unlike Mobile TV or Video Calling which are still clunky and expensive and never going to be mass market services, certainly not this year or next. Twitter is the new thing and here to stay. Let me tell you some highlights about my day on Twitter:

• An ex-colleague tweeted a link to a picture of himself following several hours spent in the icy hills over the weekend - not pretty.


• Another ex-colleague posted the following link with the comment - OMFG. I'll leave it to you to work it out, but the picture will give you a clue: London Underground Map (on a shirt). What were they thinking?


• The ever funny Mr Fry posted a picture of himself in a sarong about to enter a temple and a further pic showing sign next to the temple in wonderful Engrish stating the rules for entering the temple.


• There are endless celebrities Twittering and some have been shown to be less online than others, with stories of Tweet-by-proxy, whereby an assistant tweets the details of the star. Gawker on related topics is funny.


• And finally, again from Gawker, the home of all that is bitchy and clever, comes the story of Mark Cuban, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks basketball team who was fined for slagging referees through Twitter and then used Twitter to post his further thoughts on the matter. I love one of the comments on Gawker: Mark Cuban is the guy I'd most like to punch in the mouth.

I really do love Gawker (and the twin publication Deasdspin) for their persistent pursuit of celebrity car smashes and the crazy members of the public in thrall to the cult of celebrity. But most of all, I love Twitter for bringing all of this stuff directly into my world. What does tomorrow bring?