My first contribution to the Twitter conversation was this visual.
Then I realized my angst has nothing to do with Twitter. Thousands of geeks texting random thoughts and keeping us up on their mundane status probably has value. I’m the first to admit I’ve been wrong about these things before.
But Freud would have a field day with this phenomenon. Boys, step away from the keyboard, put down the key pad once and awhile. Give the little guy a rest (your thumb that is).
No, it’s not Twitter bugging me. It’s the effusive glee that’s annoying me as blog post upon blog post fills my RSS reader with accounts of grown men being reduced to giddy/clubby school children. These are bloggers I subscribe to and read regularly…folks I (still) respect.
That said, I wondered how fast the Twitter buzz is spreading. I only read a fraction of the feeds out there. Technorati and BlogPulse helped me put it all in context.
Twitter has ramped up quickly as part of the conversation. But comparatively this specific conversation is taking place in a tighter circle than we I realize.
Phew. OK, so It’s early and I simply have the “Look! Shiny! Blues.”
For a second there I thought I was going to have to sell my house and start worshipping Evan Williams full-time.
Hate the game, not the players bloggers.
tags | Twitter | Twitter Hater | social media
Twitter is for twits
Posted by: Dave | 03/13/2007 at 02:37 PM
For a second there, I thought "twitter hater" would make a nice bumper sticker, maybe with a picture of Calvin peeing on Tweety-Bird - but then I realised this trend is so ephmeral that I wouldn't have time to print the damn things up.
Posted by: Colin McKay | 03/13/2007 at 02:45 PM
the name alone is offputting.....but knowing what you are doing all the time..thats one river of news I don't need :)
Posted by: alanp | 03/13/2007 at 04:45 PM
First, I'll fess up that I twitter'd (that is joined today).
But, I realized why I'll never get rich by inventing some Web 2.0-something-or-another-thing (like Twitter, SecondLife, etc.): I'd think of the idea but then when the second synapse fires, I'll think who the he_ _ would ever want to do something like that!
Guess I'm too much of a RealLifer(TM).
Mike
Posted by: Mike Driehorst | 03/14/2007 at 12:02 AM
Mike: I'm not suggesting folks not check it out. Just don't dance around, squeal and hug people over it...it's not very becoming. ;-)
Posted by: Kevin Dugan | 03/14/2007 at 12:07 AM
Kevin: Okay, okay. It seems that Twitter is just another one of those things (like blogs, I guess) that plays into our respective egos. It's a way of feeling important. Which is just fine 'cause it's human nature.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Driehorst | 03/14/2007 at 08:34 AM
Thanks for the cartoon - luckily, Austria hasn't yet become infested with this - twitter seems to be for twats. Have been trying to figure out how this trackback thing works - thought it was a means to ping back from wordpress to typepad, but does not seem to have worked. Any ideas yourself?
Posted by: anaj | 03/15/2007 at 03:11 AM
I agree with Mike. Twitter is just another tool to massage the egos of the ego-maniacs out there...
Posted by: Michael Morton | 03/15/2007 at 11:36 AM
Trix are for kids, twits are for twats...there's a song in there somewhere...
Posted by: Dee Rambeau | 03/15/2007 at 03:18 PM
Dee - Bummed to hear about your blog, but I get it. Thanks for staying in the conversation. If you are ever itching to do a guest post...
Posted by: Kevin Dugan | 03/15/2007 at 10:56 PM
Kevin,
What do think of the responses you've been getting to this post?
Posted by: David Armano | 03/16/2007 at 12:45 PM
David - It's become a bit of magnet for the haters, but the rest of the conversation outside the blog has been of bigger interest to me.
As you know from a more recent post, I'm intrigued by the applications it's being plugged into. My post was meant more tongue in cheek as you noted. But a dissenting voice is a helpful part of the picture, as technology like Twitter evolves.
If anything, my Hater post encouraged the passionate users to speak up even more. Instead of the giddy posts, they were linking to more substantive posts detailing how it can be used practically.
It's all been very interesting.
Posted by: Kevin Dugan | 03/16/2007 at 01:07 PM
"instead of the giddy posts, they were linking to more substantive posts detailing how it can be used practically."
Practical is important. So is play.
Playing involves curiousity and creativity. Sometimes this leads to giddyness. Sometimes it's great to feel like a kid again. Feeling like a kid stimulates creativity and a sense of wonder. Ultimately this leads to places like "what else can this be used for"? which is exactly the frame of mind that many Twitter users are in right now and why you see so many applications being developed on the fly.
Nothing wrong with skepticism—as long as we don't trade our curiosity or sense of wonder in place of it.
Posted by: David Armano | 03/16/2007 at 02:11 PM
I read this post and wonder if I'll have to post a similar one about all my criticism of SecondLife.
Posted by: Owen Lystrup | 03/16/2007 at 04:57 PM
Linkbait = Twitterhate!
Or.
Twitterhate is the new black!
It's cool cause all of our friends are on it. That's all. Next.
Posted by: Robert Scoble | 03/17/2007 at 07:24 PM
Robert: Good to hear from you. It has been bait, but that's not why I posted on it.
And if there are three camps of folks: not aware of Twitter, Twitter Fan and Twitter Hater, I'll argue the Twitter fan camp is larger than the hater's. Or at least more vocal.
As you suggest, 'nuff said. But I really think it's a healthy part of the whole phenomena.
Posted by: Kevin Dugan | 03/17/2007 at 10:50 PM
Any new numbers on this topic, we live in September now, and I notice the Twitter community is growing.
Checkout http://www.backtrackr.com/, Twitter is evolving every day!
Regards,
GordonLokenberg
Posted by: Gordon Lokenberg | 09/21/2007 at 02:51 AM
Twitter has been pretty effective in announcing new blog posts to friends. If you have friends in high places, all the better. But Twitter's a starting point for conversations/memes/etc. It can work if used correctly. My obligatory 10 Rules for Using Twitter for PR post: http://pr4pirates.com/2008/04/23/10-rules-for-using-twitter-to-get-pr/
Posted by: Jeremy@PR4Pirates | 05/19/2008 at 01:59 PM
The problem with twitter is, it was not invented for a purpose or a purpose in mind. Take anything like email, IM, even you tube, craigslist etc. they were started for a purpose. People understood why they are using them, and - easily. Look at twitter. Tell me what is the purpose behind twitter. It was found by a bunch of crappers. If they can make twitter useful for something then it is good otherwise its waste. Look at http://www.istwittercrap.com for yourself.
Posted by: joey | 05/18/2009 at 09:43 PM