Input requested: I just got a Yahoo! email ...

[lpbk2713]

"****** wants to keep up with you on Twitter." and if gives a URL for me to click.

I don't do Social Networking and I don't know what I could possibly be getting in to here. I do know the sender and I trust him. Will I have to register on Twitter? Will I open up the flood gates for spam if I register? Will my own email addy be published to other Twitter users who I never heard of? I don't know all the specifics but I have a vague idea of what Twitter is all about and frankly I don't need messages like "I just went to the bathroom" or "I just drank a Coke". Any help in a general familiarization of Twitter would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[Why Syzygy]

1. If you don't want to do Twitter,

don't click it. I get emails from friends who've signed up on various sites and want me to join. I just ignore them. I've got enough to keep up with. When I sign up on something, I avoid sending invitations to my friends unless it is something very specific and I know they are interested. It's just a marketing ploy for Twitter (refer your friends!).

[canetoad]

2. Don't let anyone pressure you

into signing up for stuff that does not interest you.

Shortly after Facebook came out, a ditzy friend of mine signed up and sent me an email to view her page. I used a really repulsive Brit comedy character as my name, as I'm not interested at all in social networking sites. Then I started getting scads of emails from try-hards and other assorted sad souls wanting to be my 'friend'. No thanks.