It's no surprise what was hot on Twitter this week: the official launch of Apple's new iPad.

When I woke the morning after Steve Jobs had shown the world his new baby, my Twitter feed was full of iPad references and little else. What happened to Haiti? Or everyone whining about a new work day?

While on Twitter, I bemoaned the fact that nobody seemed to want to engage in any other topics. But miraculously, by that afternoon, the iPad buzz had worn off. In my friend list of some 300 tweeters anyway.

That surprised me. While there are still occasional tweets about the iPad as more people muse on what it might do for us, it seemed to quickly die down.

Is this a symptom of the new communications world? We'd already been talking about Apple's imminent new tablet. Then, we were treated to plentiful analysis, following the launch. So much information was available: were we simply sated? And would this have occurred, say, three or five years ago?

I'm not sure if it's a symptom of social media communications, or the iPad device itself. But over coming weeks, I'll be looking at this and also the phenomenon of 'early adopters'. Because I suspect that there are more early adopters out there these days, spurred on by the interactions and encouragement they receive online. There's less privileged information, and people are sharing their expertise with the masses. For marketers, it's a dream come true.

Here's some more reading about the iPad online frenzy:

Mashable: Haiti, iPad and Obama (who incidentally think people will still be buzzing about the iPad a week from now ... but as I've said, I think this will peter out until they're in store and we get our hands on them).

Yahoo News: Cyber Crooks Cash in on iPad frenzy

What's with the pressure to be funny on Twitter?

I thought it was just me. And then I Googled it just in case (as you do). And I found I'm not the only one .. it's a big topic out there.

Apparently those 140 characters aren't simply about being clear and succinct. They need to be funny, pithy, whimsical ... or at the very least, sarcastic. If you don't get a few LOLs, LMFAO or Hee Hees a day, you're #failing.

This applies to tweets from journalists, social media commentators, web developers, retailers, the ordinary Joe in the street.

I once saw this tweet posted: "I'm not following X Company any more. They're just not funny". What the?

Sure, there's plenty of other themes on Twitter. Many of them far from funny.

There's the soapbox brigade lobbying for something or railing against something. There's earnest awareness raising, fundraising and cause-promoting tweets. But hotdamn, those funny Twitterers are the best aren't they? Even better: the fake accounts that tweet in character.

Sure, fake Twitter accounts are 'naughty' but hell they're creative. (But can be so disappointing when they stop tweeting. I enjoyed JackFknBauer while it lasted. And BrosLife just doesn't tweet enough!)

If you want to succumb and sign up to more 'funny tweets', see Mashable's recommendations, this Twibe's list, and this one from PC World.