One of Web 2.0's recent offsprings is http://www.twitter.com. Here is the site's pitch:

A global community of friends and strangers answering one simple question: What are you doing? Answer on your phone, IM, or right here on the web!

OK, so, why is that interesting and who the hell cares? From a socio-political perspective I suppose the fact that thousands of people are posting to say "look at me, this is what I am doing right now," says something about who were are as an increasingly wired world. But saying something and meaning something (or having meaning) are entirely different things.

The site is probably best described as a venue for people who don't have the patience to wait for their fifteen minutes of fame - thirty seconds now and again will do just fine thanks. McLuhan foretold an coming age of increased tribalism and this is just more evidence of his thesis. Oh, and for those of you who think he meant that uncritically as a good thing, well, go back and read him again.

Still, the site has a degree of potential -- it may over time become a meaningful tool to unite diverse people. It may even me a good way to propagate your URL across the Googlebot searched webiverse. But it seems a shame that the best we can do with these potentially powerful tools is to twitter.