Twitter Love + Hate

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Kevin Dugan writes me to share this tounge-in-cheek post of how sick he is of hearing about Twitter.  I totally understand where he's coming from.  Twitter goes against the very valid grain that we are already too connected and we don't need more of it.  Especially the seemingly insignificant notion of sharing random thoughts about "what you are doing" at this very moment—("I'm writing a post about Twitter").

BUT

If you are interested about marketing, conversations and the ways which we communicate with each other (and how this is changing and evolving), you should at least investigate what the hoopla is all about.  My recent experiences with Twitter tell me that the service is morphing due to how users want to use it.  What was once initially designed to answer the question "what are you doing?", has turned into a free-form communications service where people are having burts of shorthand conversations, sharing links and information in rapid-fire fashion.

The case study I offer for this is the SXSW conference which is currently wrapping up.  I observed (and to some extent participated) in some of the back and forth communications and even got some gems out of it like this link to Kathy Sierra's keynote.  I've also been reminded via someone's Twitter about daylight savings which I've made a tradition out of missing every year (except for this one).  And here, Leisa shares how she would have missed her flight to SXSW if it were not for Twitter.

Applications and hacks are coming out of the woodwork like the mobile version called Twapper as well as a application which puts you in touch with people who are using the service and are in close proximity to you locally.  Twitterrific (now available for Mac) let's you send and recieve "Tweets" ala a very slick chat-like app (shown here).

So, should you stop what your doing and jump on the bandwagon?  NO.  It's not for everyone.  And I don't recommend it for people who are already trying to cut down on their Internet addictions.  But, if you have a vested interest in this space, you should be following the movement and coming to your own conclusions.  Personally, I think Twitter is a pretty powerful tool for anything involving promotions, events and communities.  I've seen it in action first-hand used this context and with the exception of some tech outages due to the surging popularity—it's pretty darn effective.

Oh and if you want to be my "friend" you can find me here.  :)

PS, for the record I'm Twittering irregularly—a handful a day (5 or so on average) and I don't see it as a blog replacement—again the potential to exchange information rapidly while away from your computer is one of the most significant factors that has fueled Twitter's most recent explosion.

Comments

[etn]

http://www.thumbwarz.com/index.phtml?snum=-1&sterm=Twitter&sims=-&apost=

what people think of twitter craze

[Blendah Tom]

Great Post..

I tried locating "as well as a application which puts you in touch with people who are using the service and are in close proximity to you locally." on the wiki but was not succesfull.. ???

Thanks,
Tom

[Paul McEnany]

I tried to read this, but my attention started waining after 160 characters. :)

[Aldana]

Hey I love twitter, I use the 10 post hack in my blog and readers love it.

I've noticed Twitter is having a lot of issues lately... Did you experienced any of them yet?? Maybe they're getting way more traffic than expected??

Aldana

[Ashley Cecil]

I never cared for IM, I don't send text messages, and I screen my calls (screening one right now). Twitter is my worst nightmare. Maybe I'm just a really anti-social person. I read books about time management and micro-schedule my day be ensure stuff gets done. For me, Twitter = time suck.

I see some people actually getting professional benefits out of it. If it works for you, great. I just hope it doesn't become so popular that if you don't use it, you're out of the loop. Peer pressure; it follows me everwhere!

[DA]

Ashley,

I totally hear you, and the time suck risk is high. I've been applying a good deal of restraint using it but in some ways have saved time as the links come to be.

Like most Social Media, Twitter is a double edged sword.

[Roger von Oech]

I recommend that your readers check out this gem about Twitter from Tom Haskins (one of my favorite bloggers). It's called "A Degenerate Form of Blogging."

http://growchangelearn.blogspot.com/2007/03/degenerate-form-of-blogging.html

[DA]

Roger,

I would take a look at what Tom Haskins wrote—but I'm tryng to get some work done right now. :)

[alyssa]

I guess if all the cool kids are doing it... I mean, now there's a t-shirt and everything.

Now I am your twitter friend, Choocho. Someday we'll be f-2-f friends again. :-)

[Adam]

Twits are as twits do: Twitter.

Twitter is blogging comments without the blog post. Instead, YOU are the blog post and the comment surround you.

So it's a cosmology of comments: a commentology.

Safe to say, the fascination of Twitter is the sheer speed of getting text from one screen to another. The compulsion is to say something and hear your voice echo around the web.

As ever, the medium is the message... the medium is the message... the medium is the message...

Move on.

[Ike]

David, I think you hit on one of the keys (which puts you head and shoulders ahead of the Twitter-Hater Backlash Bandwagon.)

It's all in how you use it.

1) I "twit" maybe 6 times a day.
2) I "twit" primarily for the benefit of a small circle of social-media types.
3) We typically "twit" to share good news, or to quickly bounce ideas around. (This never involves the whole group, by the way. I never know who's going to answer.)
4) I never EVER eavesdrop on the main Twitter page. Waste. Of. Time.

Here's what I like, for my purposes.

1) Unlike IM, we can easily squeeze in a group.
2) Cross platform, cross device compatibility.
3) No enforced "groups," I can easily choose whom I listen to and when. They can do the same.
4) Our "social-media circle" is just a Blackberry click away.

It's the best of many worlds, for a very narrow set of purposes. For instance, let's say a group of co-workers are trying a joint diet plan. They can shout out encouragement to each other through the day, as needed, and pick up the stream at any point. Location doesn't matter, travel doesn't matter, and it's easy.

Again, you nailed the point. We DON'T YET KNOW how this thing is going to be exploited just yet. Most of the ideas that are floating either won't work, or just won't take. But some will...