It looks like what I was trying to describe as the benefits of Twitter etc, is ambient intimacy. This is a nice term for being close to the environment of others with it’s not practical to be there in person.
Who cares? Who wants this level of detail? Isn’t this all just annoying noise?…
There are a lot of us, though, who find great value in this ongoing noise. It helps us get to know people who would otherwise be just acquaintances. It makes us feel closer to people we care for but in whose lives we’re not able to participate as closely as we’d like.
For more information, read what Leisa Reichelt has to say about ambient intimacy.