I wish it was down forever.
That is sad. If you use Twitter properly it is an awesome thing. Don’t “follow” everyone and be a slave to a “feed” to keep up with.
But if you hear of an important thing happening in your hometown or the world, search for that place (no need for a hashtag) and get the most updated local info from the sources.
Just watch a candidate’s speech or a ball game is on? Search it and get on the spot comments like on a FR live thread. See if anyone caught that faux pas or the missed call.
Use Twitter as needed; just don’t let it use you.