People always ask me why I use Twitter instead of Facebook Status Updates. Twitter is much more flexible and "mine-able," meaning my twitter post goes into a data set - all twitters - and is then searchable. This is important because among other things, via this search function, you can see what subjects people are talking about. You can gauge word of mouth on something.
For example, a lot of people in the Kellogg community are pissed about the Field Museum party. I'm mildly pissed. More like disappointed because I can see how something like this could happen in this day and age.
Regardless of feelings, if you do a Twitter search you can see how lite the comments are. This hasn't crossed over into the mainstream (yet).
Search Terms "Kellogg" & "Field" - http://search.twitter.com/search?q=kellogg+field
Search Terms "Kellogg" & "Party" - http://search.twitter.com/search?q=kellogg+party
Search Terms "Kellogg" & "School" - http://search.twitter.com/search?q=kellogg+school
Vs. something about Prop 8 (the Gay Marriage initiative on the California Ballot):
http://search.twitter.com/search?q=prop+8
