If Twitter is social networking  then we are in danger of losing sight of the original intention of the site when it was first set up.

There are concerns that instead of working with your network within the 140 character constraints many Tweets today contain none or very little readable information that can be understood at a glance. Referring instead to truncated web addresses which give no clue as to the content. Following such links frequently reveals that you are connected to a business site of probably no interest whatsoever. Clearly marketers have not yet learned that on Twitter that it is not a push marketing opportunity to advertise a business proposition. There are plenty of alternatives for that and the invasion of the social networking environment is a matter of concern and regret. The idea that people will be so enthralled by the steady stream of gobbledygook messages that they will all pass on the irrelevant content, re-tweet in the jargon, to their friends is not supportable. The email system has largely been taken over by crooks and doubtful business propositions and it will be a crying shame if Twitter goes the same way.  At the moment even after a goodly chunk  of new funding Twitter is very vulnerable as there is no discernable income stream to support the enterprise and yet this may present the solution to the perceived problem. If Twitter is to survive, then income must be generated in some way or other. Maybe a parallel universe such as “Twitter Trade” might be the answer whereby trade tweets containing links business websites or other profit orientated enterprises are funded by buying credits, no credits no tweets! Whatever system is devised Twitter is a valuable communication tool. People that I follow have something interesting to say. Each tweet taken in isolation could be judged to be inconsequential but when a number are put together, the picture builds up into something of interest. A an example of this one inveterate Tweeter on her way to a political party conference in the North of England told me by tweeting that there were two fire alarms in the hotel that night, who was speaking at the conference and a taster of what the content of the speech was about and who got the standing ovation.  All of this with no truncated meaningless URLs, well done. That is what it is all about and it is worth preserving. We must not let social networking and particularly Twitter fall in to the hands of the Chattering Advertising Classes!