I had some thoughts about Twitter's appeal yesterday that are entirely rough but that still might be worth sharing. The gist is this: what Twitter reminds me of is nothing so much as the constant stream of chatter that my high school friends and I kept up during the course of a day -- either in person, via note, over the telephone, or through word of mouth from friend to friend to friend. My high school friends (and by that I mean not only my close circle of six or some "best friends" but our extended network that included other close circles of friends) were extremely clever, bright, and funny, which conspired to make that period extraordinarily enjoyable. And through that constant contact, I felt alive, connected, loved, and tied in to something bigger than myself.

Now, back at that age of 17 or 18 it seemed to me that one of the sad things about getting older was that people of a certain age didn't seem to keep up those sorts of close associations. I looked to me that once you got married or otherwise partnered up you most likely lost that sort of free-wheeling friendships that made my life so rich. Become a thirty-something, and it was you, your spouse, a kid or two, and that one single friend that came over for dinner on occasion. I know there are probably troves of sociological research on how our social connections shift over different life stages, but, anecdotally, I'm not sure I was that far off.

Let me get to the point: it seems to me that some of the appeal of Twitter is that it can bring you back (or, if that wasn't your experience, introduce to you for a first time) to a time of constant chatter with a circle of friends and friends of friends in a way that's hugely fun, reaffirming, and relaxing. There's something kid like about gossiping and sharing and living life as a member of a social group or groups, rather than as a single atom bumping its way through the universe. In that way, Twitter reminds me a lot of high school: constant contact that makes me feel part of something bigger than myself and is a whole lot of fun too.