A lot of blogs have reported on the news about Twitter Annotations and make no mistake, it’s not just “metadata” as some will be quick to point out. Metadata doesn’t really mean anything to the average user who doesn’t see this word very often (which is the rest of the world). Simply put for those who use Twitter, Annotations are enhanced hashtags that won’t eat up your Twitter character limit.

What Are Twitter Annotations

Twitter Annotations was announced at the CHIRP, the official Twitter developer conference, this past April. It will allow you to officially tag tweets in many ways, just as hashtags have been doing. Robert Scoble has a run down of what type of functionality Twitter Annotations will have, though Twitter has been tight-lipped about exactly how Annotations will be attached to tweets. While Annotations won’t be released until later this summer, I think Twitter will position Twitter closer into Myspace and Facebook’s territory as each network’s user bases migrate across platforms.

Can Twitter Annotations Please Everyone?

If you haven’t been on Twitter since the beginning, you might not be aware of mainstream’s dramatic shift of the majority of Twitter’s user base. Take a look at the trends and look at the Twitter stream you’ve cultivated. Notice any difference? As Twitter’s user base diversifies and become more connected, Twitter Annotations may be Twitter’s way of pleasing both the early adopters who served as a catalyst for its success and the user base that now propels it into the ranks of competitors Facebook and Myspace (not to mention a lot of business marketing campaigns).

What Do You Think….

  • How do you envision using Twitter Annotations?
  • What value do you hope to derive from Twitter Annotations?