TWITTER?
Submitted by BrookeLyn on Wed, 03/26/2008 - 3:39pm.
What do you know about Twitter? What is the use/fuss about?
I feel like I have more websites than I know what to do with; if someone needs to get a hold of me, call/email me (my blackberry does not sleep as it is).
Am I missing something here? Of course, I did sign up for it; not sure why... :)
Thanks!!
See you tomorrow!
I had the same question as you, questioning the usefulness of it. I have a hard enough time doing whatever I'm doing, without updating everyone about my every move or thought....or learning about what my contacts are up to throughout the day.
I'll admit that I think it's useful for people attending large gatherings -- like SXSW. If you subscribe to someone's twitter stream, you can find out where they are and what they're doing without interrupting that person with a call. But again, that's a limited scenario. I am still waiting for someone to give me a compelling reason to use it daily.
Think of it as IM multicast, there is a fundamental technical issue. Really micro-blogging is what it is about to me. Real blogging takes a lot of time, twitter is just putting out there what you want.
It is all about faster pace of life and gained knowledge of text messaging (short and to the point). I think this is a case where the tool (web blogging) is catching up to what already happened.
http://twitter.com/RoundSparrow
Maybe something else will replace it, but I think there are some fundamentals at work here, it fits a need.
That makes some sense, thank you!
http://twitter.com/brookelyn128
http://www.linkedin.com/in/banderson
That's a good explanation. Thanks as well.
--
Round Sparrow, thank you for your explanation. But I still don't get it. Yes, I'm subscribed to Twitter but I can't see how it will ever be useful to me. I can see how it could be enthralling (like TV) for some, but I just don't get it. I'm hoping I'll change my mind - I feel like the old guy complaining about those derned iron horses that everybody is talking about.
http://twitter.com/tw00b
I'm probably more like you in that this kind of thing can be passed over and something new will come along (or it will still be here if you change your mind a year later).
It has to be about you. for me, I'm making an effort to do a midlife social remake [working at home office and travel for 7 years has been murder on what was never a great social life]
I'll throw some things out:
1) There are many technical interfaces to twitter. A lot of people SMS from their phone to send in updates. Each message has a from-source and you can kind of see how ease of publishing is key.
2) it is an almost all adult community. The young crowd (MySpace) really started the social websites (with no focused topic). But the kids seem to be absent on Twitter.
3) There is a bit of personal sharing going on for most people. thoughts on daily life. And you are invited to read it.
4) popular in Austin and California tech communities. Probably your typical demographic if you are a door64 user.
Maybe it isn't for you? I know plenty of foodies who don't like a lot of hops in their beer. I find most video games tedious despite something I keep expecting I will enjoy (I've passed by entire decades of video games).
P.S. Twitter isn't particularly reliable, you have to get over that ;)
It's tough to say how long this Twitter popularity will last. I can say with certainty that Obama is one of the most active Twitters right now with just about 6000 followers, and that Colbert of the Colbert Report and Steve Jobs have abandoned their Twitter accounts and "followers" to collect dust. Oh wait, this just in...Snoop Dog is now Twittering.
Not necessarily sent from my iPhone
Now that I can follow Snoop, I'm in!!
haha. I'm with you, BrookeLyn!
Not necessarily sent from my iPhone
Ok, so turning on my device on Twitter would probably help me figure this one out...
https://twitter.com/brookelyn128
Post something ;) Try out some new software, find a new website you like, something else related to your tech interest?
Not that I have researched if this is being done now, but what I think would be interesting is to incorporate Twitter and mobile GPS: Figure out what I'm thinking/doing, with where I'm thinking/doing it. The GPS should have resolution by tagged locales, not lat/long coordinates (not that useful).
Thus, it says "Matt is working on door64 development [Mozarts Cafe]".
where.com seems to be doing something with Twitter
Mentioned in comments on this blog:
http://www.10zenmonkeys.com/2007/03/16/twittering-the-twitter-revolution...
Brooke,
Twitter is a new phenomenon that's kind of strange at first. When I found out about it, I ignored it for about a year. Now I'm starting to get it. Anyway, this video by Lee LeFever (who I met at SXSW) does a good job of quickly explaining Twitter (less than 3 mins). It's pretty entertaining, too.
http://www.commoncraft.com/Twitter
Nice video, thank you johndeo!! So, an online diary of my life, how interesting to all of those who do not know me.
One more thing to add to my "things to do today," list, "add updates to Twitter," so everyone will see how busy I am :)
Since I am not much of a blogger, Twitter might not be for me.
Thanks again!
P.S. RoundSparrow, that website on 10zen monkeys sounds exactly what I am thinking while visiting my twitter page.
I'm not a twitter user, however I saw this article the other day. You wanted a use for Twitter, this guy found one!
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_8934411?IADID=Search-www.mercurynews.com-w...
Man, that's amazing. I'm surprised he was able to twitter that via cell phone while/after being arrested.
OK, I've decided to take the leap. I'm on: https://twitter.com/mgenovese
Twitter is interesting if it suits your purpose. When people speak of microblogging, what they're speaking of is a mechanism to socially connect with friends/followers in a multicast way. Think of it as a way of sending an IM to all your friends with random thoughts or updates on what you're doing, i.e., "Going to see the new Indy movie! Call me if you want to go with!" (and very easy to do from a phone. Once your mobile number is associated with your twitter feed, you just send a text message to 40404).
In the end, if it doesn't suit your needs or social style, don't use it. Just like blogging :-) Don't forget, however, that door64 has a twitter, and you can always create a twitter account to passively monitor the "tweets" (if you run Vista, you can use "Twadget" sidebar, mobile devices: m.twitter.com, XP/OSX: twhirl, or Google's Witty client).
David "LetsKillDave" Weller
I thought Twitter was a blog aggregater?
Not exactly, although it could be used that way if the blogs you are interested in have a twitter feed from them.
No, twitter is a microblog. You can say anything you want (like a blog), but you have 140 characters or less to say hit (the micro part).
Also, you can message each other...similar to instant messaging. The usefulness is it's mobility since twitter apps are available beyond computers, such as on phones, PDAs, etc.