I ignored Twitter for a long time based on the presumption that nothing useful could be expressed in 180 characters.

The reason Twitter is useful is because its not necessarily about following people that you personally know. You can follow anyone. I follow a number of tech luminaries, venture capitalists, security experts, scientists, writers, developers. Most of them don't know me and don't follow me back. That doesn't matter - I get a piece of their wisdom - I get links they've found valuable. I've found that I've gained useful insights by doing this.

The small post size is still extremely constraining as a form of expression, but the benefit is that it makes it easier for other people to consume what you are thinking - they might not have time for your 500 word blog post, but if you can make an acute point, they've got time for it.

So, basically, its not as banal as it seems.