Blue birds singing a song. Nothing but blue birds all day long: being an exhaustively brief treatise on WHO tweets?

Like a songbird with no song, is the twitter user with no tweets a useless anomaly too?

After my own pathetic showing during the twitter session at Staff Day, it occurred to me to re-examine my use of Twitter especially as it compared to others' use of the social networking site. In the spirit of full disclosure, I don't tweet. I have a twitter account, and will, on occasion, derive a few chuckles from following the likes of Stephen Colbert (@StephenAtHome) and Neil Patrick Harris (@ActuallyNPH) (LOVE!), or pretend like I am keeping up with news by following my favorite (and some not-so-favorite) news outlets.  Write a tweet myself?  Never crossed my mind.  In my admittedly smaller social circle, I know very few people that tweet.  I have often participated in communal bewilderment with my peers about the purpose of Twitter, and why it is so darn popular.  It seems that the few people I have met that actively tweet generally fall into two categories:  They either LOVE the sound of their own voices or are promoting themselves (artists, actors, musicians), their companies, or their pet projects.  Legit.

Am I wrong to view Twitter as some superfluous entity that appears to be very important, if not pivotal, to 'others', but not myself?  Is my tweeting reticence reactionary?  If I'M not tweeting and my tens of friends aren't tweeting, then WHO TWEETS?

Luckily, the Pew Research Institute has asked this very question, and here are a few of the highlights from their 2011 update to their original query of Twitter adoption from November 2010:

• 13% of online adults use Twitter
• Twitter adoption is particularly high among non-whites
• Twitter usage by those ages 25-44 has grown significantly since late 2010

And now for some visuals:
(right-click on the charts and open them in another window/tab to be able to see them better)

Okay...to be honest, 13% is not a huge percentage, which would explain the lack of tweeters I personally know. 

The Neighborhood Libraries of ALD serve a diverse community, which, according to the numbers, are increasingly using Twitter.  Maybe I need to get over my Twitter hang-ups? 

Or... (thanks to Lab42)

So, let's say I'm sold.  I now want to venture into the world of being an active Twitter participant.  I am ready to Tweet.  How can I make sure it is valuable and not just more of the meaningless blather that initially turned me off from Twitter?  

Check out this article from PCWorld on how to 'Twitter Like a Pro':
The best take-away for me? To 'tweet' Twitter like a conversation, and to provide value.  Single line slogans come across as false.

Is that the sweet song of bluebirds on a blue sky day I hear?  Ah, yes.  Twitter.