Could someone please help?

WTF is Twitter about?


I've tried, I really have. I've tweeted, I've followed Stephen Fry, Eddie Izzard and a few others but I still fail to get it. I can't seem to navigate around the site either. I've managed to "tweet" from my iPhone but it wasn't the easiest thing in the world to achieve. 


So could someone help? Could someone tell me a use for Twitter? An easy way to access Twitter, An easy way to understand Twitter?


Also, what is with all the offshoot sites like "chirper, squirter, twatter" etc?


*Waits patiently*