BOSTON (MarketWatch) -- I've spent the better part of the past week monitoring Twitter to see if there's anything of value being said about retirement in this electronic Tower of Babel. Though not exhaustive, my search yielded "tweets" that were sometimes sweet, sometimes inane, sometimes funny, and occasionally useful.
Twitter, one of the hottest social networking sites, allows users to get their message across in just 140 characters or less. So, is there anything of value being said? The short answer is no. It takes too long to separate the wheat from the chaff. Yes, there's some good stuff, and once you find someone to "follow," it's sure worthwhile. But finding someone worth following takes some effort.
Tweeting the opening bell
David Meerman Scott, author of the new book "World Wide Rave," uses Twitter to get folks together to ring the Nasdaq's opening bell, as the social-networking technology becomes more mainstream. (March 30)
"I've been trying to figure out the best approach," said Andy Eschtruth, associate director for external relations at the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, who noted that the people who dominate the default page are those who have posted most recently.
Likewise, John Gannon of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority said the organization is reviewing whether and how to use social media sites such as Twitter. Finra, which regulates securities firms, recently launched an investor education page on Facebook for military families, but Gannon views such exercises as experiments rather than programs with a definite return on investment.
Here's what I found in the world of Twitter. In essence, there seem to be three different types of retirement tweets out there: the funny and inane, the serious and useful, and the shameless self-promotion. By the way, when I asked my small number of followers if they ever found anything tweeted of use and value, I didn't get any responses.
The humorous and inane
To be sure, as time wasters go, it's well worth watching the tweets for a much-needed laugh, especially given the feeling of despair often associated with retirement these days. Consider, for instance, some of the tweets I chanced upon:
"Liquidity definition: Liquidity is when you look at your retirement funds and wet your pants."
"Trapped in retirement community in Florida. Please send help and/or liquor."
"Fulfilled retirement dream: Got HD, DVR, 678 channels, On Demand, 50 Sports Channels, and a remote. Why do they even run commercials any more?"
"Looks like pretty soon I should be owing money on my retirement funds. Or do they stop at zero?"
"Stocks are falling again. It looks like my retirement will go the way of radio shows and full-service gas stations."
"Watching Price Is Right. Retirement is so stressing."
"Retirement communities are like college but with less binge drinking, loud music and promiscuity."
"Dow flirting with -300. I am going to burn the passwords to my IRA & 401k so I can't look anymore."
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