For an off-the-wall way to use Twitter, new craze Tweetbombing may just take the award for the most fun. Like the best crazes, Tweetbombing keeps it simple and open to everyone and so far the formula is working, with the Twitter profile for Tweetbomb already enjoying over 1,000 followers.
So what is Tweetbomb and why is it so much fun?
At its simplest, Tweetbomb is nothing more than a harmless way for Twitter users to play a game almost junior school-like in its approach. Twitter users follow Tweetbomb, and at exactly 3.33pm Eastern time (EST), a message is sent out to all followers with the name of the Twitter user to be Tweetbombed that day.
Everyone then sends out a blank Tweet – the Tweetbomb in question – to that user. No message, no hello, nothing – simply a blank Tweet and that’s it. Live results of how many Tweets are sent are provided via the Twitter search tool, while the user in question has no idea what’s going on until informed later.
As a way of encouraging new connections, Tweetbomb delivers (Tweetbombers often befriend the person that’s just been targeted). As a fun way and harmless way to use Twitter, Tweetbomb also delivers.
And isn’t having fun and meeting new people what makes Twitter so popular in the first place?
- UPDATE 30 NOVEMBER 2008: The Tweetbomb account has been suspended by Twitter pending investigation into misuse. While the idea behind Tweetbomb seems to be innocent fun, as Lucretia Pruitt points out in the comments it could perhaps be costly for someone receiving cell phone updates from Twitter. Until a way of voluntary and non-cost Tweetbombing is found, perhaps it needs to go back to the drawing board?