A lot of us who use Twitter realize the value of it. We participate in it, gain value from our contacts, offer value to others, market our own sites, etc. Twitter is a valuable resource of knowledge when used properly.

OK, I get that. Perhaps you do, too. But, most people don’t. And nothing makes that more clear than trying to explain to a family member why you use it or, more so, trying to convince them to sign up.

My wife recently joined up with Twitter, mainly because I tell her every now and then of interesting exchanges I’ve seen on the site. However, she has participated very little. She tells me it seems stupid. Seems like a waste of time. ‘Why do I care about what other people had for lunch?’, she asks.

Valid question. I tell her, though, that perhaps she is just following the wrong people. The value you get out of Twitter is in who you follow and then, secondly, who follows you.

So, what benefits might there be to Twitter that your average non-techie family member might identify with? Perhaps:

• The fact that you can connect with people from around the world in real-time.
• The fact that you can ask a question and perhaps get an answer from your network.
• The fact that many companies are on Twitter and that can give you an ‘in’ with them
• The fact that having a wide social network is valuable as an asset

At the end of the day, too, many of these people aren’t going to see the light until they actually experience the social interaction that Twitter can offer. Once they see that people actually talk back, they’re more likely to like it.

It helps that we’re seeing Twitter become more used in mainstream circles. I’m even seeing it mentioned on TV now. It also helps that Twitter has drastically improved their reliability. I haven’t seen a fail whale in some time now.

So, have you successfully introduced anybody to Twitter who isn’t a geek? And if so, how? What makes it finally click for a person?

(Via David Risley.)