build a meaningful personal or business relationship . Israel also says that who you follow on Twitter is much more important than the number of people who follow you . That 's because the people you follow become `` your newspaper -- the way you get the information that you see , that you digest , and that you use . '' Here is an edited version of the conversation . CNN : Your timing in writing this book seems perfect -- Twitter just blew up . Did you see this boom coming ? Israel : Yeah I did , but not with this great prescience . I just thought it was going to get bigger and bigger , and I thought there was a value to Twitter that no other social media tool had . See part of our chat with Israel here '' What are those values you mentioned that only Twitter has ? There are two values and they 're closely intertwined . The first is that Twitter lets people behave online more closely to how we behave in real life than anything that ever preceded it in history . It 's kind of past now ,
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Shel Israel is not the kind of person you 'd expect to find on Twitter all day . He 's 65 . Shel Israel , author of a new book on Twitter . He says the micro-blogging service changed his life . But Israel has been using the micro-blogging service longer than most . In fact , he gave up his lifelong habit of reading the newspaper every day about four years ago and turned exclusively to social media . He now knows how to use Twitter , how not to use it , and how to benefit from it , and he says Twitter has changed his life . The social-media journalist and public speaker is the author of a new book , `` Twitterville : How Businesses Can Thrive in the New Global Neighborhoods . '' The book shows how Twitter flattens geographical boundaries and helps people connect with others around the world who share their interests . To Israel , it 's the mundane details of one 's life , shared through tweets and status updates , that matter . He believes that tweeting about what you had for lunch can actually help