I've been using Twitter for a few months now, and overall I like it. Sure, RSS exists, but for that, you have to have your own web server, and some way to get your message out to follow it. Twitter offers the hosting and the directory service.

I follow a fair number of my friends, and for me it offers a quick view of what they are up to as well. And this is the basis of why Twitter exists. It's supposed to be a quick status update mechanism.

I've gotten some good things out of Twitter, including:
- Two free movie screenings
- A free T-Shirt
- Ability to provide feedback on a large commercial program I use daily
- Insight into a few podcasts I listen to

I'll agree it has issues, but for me, it works well enough. I do use apps to access Twitter, and rarely actually see the web site, so that may have something to do with my perceptions of it.