...what the hell this Twitter hoop-la is all about? I signed up for it and use it because someone said that if you write for pay, it's good to get into 'social networking.'
But for the life of me I can't figure out what good it does. So far it seems it's just a plaything for the rich and famous to feed their narcissism. I mean, who the hell wants to know what somebody else is doing, minute by minute, except for stalkers?
Maybe I'm missing something here. If someone cares to enlighten me, I am open to being educated in the vast beneficial intricacies of Twitter...
Sheesh.
Thursday, April 02, 2009
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14 comments:
I think you figured it out! Waste of time.
Twitter is something that teenage girls like to do so their BFFs can know waz up every 5 minutes of their boring existence. Letting an unknown number of people of unknown location, unknown age, unknown job status and unknown mental abilities know where you are and what you are doing isn't my idea of smart business practice. Nor too smart for personal safety reasons.
Well, that's what I was thinking, but I swear, so many seem to be so enamoured and mesmerized by it, I thought surely I must be missing something...
Al, it does seem to be an exercise in the trivial. And I sure as hell ain't gonna tell anybody jack-shit about where I am or where I'm going!
No, I think you understand it.
I think the headache is that you're trying to figure out why it is that people believe a useless thing to be somehow useful. :)
I use a nifty little tool that publishes my site's rss feed as a tweet, but, apart from that... yeah, pretty damned near useless.
Waste of time ...
So is there anyone who enters these hallowed chambers who thinks Twitter is NOT a complete waste of time!?
Heh. Lots of people say the same thing about blogging, you know.
I have heard about some taco trucks (roach coaches) using it to alert people where they are and where they'll be next so it makes it easier for their customers to find them.
Brian Unger from NPR did a bit about Twitter - I found it to be very informative.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=101619832
It's for narcissists! Exactly! That's what I have told people when the topic has come up.
While many of the opinions here CAN be valid criticisms of Twitter usage, it really comes down to this: Twitter is an information tool. And like all other tools, it can be used for good, for bad, and for waste (also bad).
Twitter is primarily used as a conversation tool, but is very flexible and can be used in many different ways.
Like Linoge said, there are tools like TwitterFeed that will automatically make a post to Twitter when you make a new post on your blog, so your followers can know when you've posted fresh content.
Since it is a Live feed, it is actually a great way of posting breaking news or information, and due to some major news stories being developed live on Twitter by eyewitnesses (the first photo from the scene of the US Air ditching in the Hudson was posted on Twitter), the news media has realized its potential and starting using it heavily (though many are just leveraging the fad factor).
I think that Twitter is actually a great tool for the masses to use to distribute information quickly that would be useful in uncertain or chaotic situations like major terrorist attacks, civil unrest, or major government acts of tyranny, and thus should be evaluated by liberty-loving Americans as another method of being armed for various contingencies.
Since you just joined Twitter, I would suggest that you look around and see if any another like-minded thought leaders/bloggers are using it and follow them and start having conversations (when short bursts of communication are appropriate).
I think that there is undoubtedly a tendency towards superficial egotism in this arena, but it doesn't mean that it can't be used in a powerful way for good purposes. I hope this has been helpful food for thought.
Yes, very helpful, Jason. Thanks!
Twitter allows people who ARE INTERESTED in you to get updated more frequently about points of interest such as:
a) when you have a new blog post/article
b) an enraging article you want people to check out but don't have time to blog about
c) witty remarks you want to remember and simultaneously want others to "hear" as to make yourself appear smarter.
Those are 3 great reasons right there!
In all seriousness... twitter is powerful because alot of twitter desktop applications actually DELIVER content to users AS IT IS POSTED... you don't have to wait on your followers to visit you; you "visit" them.
Jason's comment is also accurate.
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