Getting local with Twitter

So, yes, I have found yet another useful application for Twitter. I know, it’s hard to believe, but stick with me.

More and more of my local communities are coming on to Twitter and tweeting about what’s going on around town. So maybe Twitter can actually help us get our lazy butts up, off the Internet and out of the house.

I’ve been following my hometown of Hillsborough (NC) for a while now, so I always know when a family fun day is coming up (hint: pretty much every Saturday). Cool neighbor city Durham recently came online (that’s where they have all the best restaurants). I also follow my local co-op grocery store and farmers market on Twitter, so I know immediately that I missed the free farmers market pancake breakfast last weekend (boo!).

If you don’t want to go local, Twitter can also take you where no man has gone before.

Meanwhile, my hometown of Pittsboro (NC) — which does not have a Twitter account, as far as I know — has hatched an evil plan to thwart the economic recovery by issuing local currency, a plot that is getting covered as far away as Los Angeles. You can even use the locally issued money at the Piggly Wiggly! I always knew I came from a beehive of socialism; now it is just confirmed.