Twitter as Usability Tool

Recently, columnist David Pogue of the New York Times, asked his Twitter followers what new gadgets they would like to see on the market (http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/09/your-favorite-uninvented-gadget/).  And he got some interesting responses.  Someone asked for self charing batteries, waterproof cell phones, wireless power for laptops (somebody beat you to it:  http://www.ted.com/talks/eric_giler_demos_wireless_electricity.html), solar panels for lap tops and so on. 

But the significance to technical communication has to do with usability studies.  People have been using the web for feedback on products since the internet BA (the internet before amazon).  The fact is consumers have been involved in the marketing process since social media went Google.  However, product design has largely been in the hands of the companies not the consumer.  Now, good companies did usability testing and read consumer reviews before then.  But with social media, consumers are voicing the problems that prevent them from completing necessary tasks on large forum like Twitter and Facebook.  And these users are coalescing.  Groups of users rambling their discontent on the wonderfully democratic internet.  Users are moving from being simply discontent about how their products are designed to demanding a more user-centered process of production.  And the forums on which they can shout are free and many.