Down with Twitter!
My experiment with Twitter ended a few weeks ago. I posted my last so-called tweet is late October, and now, I move on for many reasons.
1) Twitter is a dumb word.
2) Tweet is even dumber.
3) 140 words is too short for anything but a semi-grammatical grunt.
4) I kept attracting unsavory followers offering hidden links to scandalous sites.
5) Twitter is continually over-capacity.
6) I am all for Web 2.0, but Twitter's purpose is to limited that I only ever see things like: I am about to take a dump; I am off to the to store to buy condoms. In other words, it is a constant source of useless micro-information.
7) I don't need constant reminders that people lead boring lives.
8) I already have a few Ego 2.0 outlets, and don't need another.
9) I really think Twitter inflates one's perceived sense of importance.
10) Twitter would have been much better if I had thought of it and had given it a good name.
I hope Twitter dies and soon. Down with Twitter!
9 comments:
i agree that twitter makes itself out to be much more than it is. but i can't help but think of the folks in iran who used it to broadcast what was going on.
but the main reason i started using it was because my company blocked facebook, and also to stop talking out loud to myself too much. on facebook, i feel like there's more of an audience; on twitter you're pretty much mumbling to yourself, which works for me.
I like richly crafted sentences and paragraphs. That's why I prefer blogging.
To me, Twitter is like texting on a computer. I don't understand either Twitter or texting. I use a phone to TALK to people. If I want to communicate online, I email or blog. True communication consists of way more than 140 words!
I find Twitter overwhelming. There's so much coming at you and very little interacting with others. I do enjoy crafting a pithy, somewhat misleading and mysterious "tweet", but after that, what's the point? It's not like I can explain there if someone asks. Bleh.
I like texting. Why call my husband and ask him what to get from the grocery store. Send and text, receive a list and be on with it. Better than all those people all the phone in their cars. Who are they talking with at 6:30AM?!?
There should have been a question mark and "send A text." I'm tired.
I'm a Twitter addict so I can't agree, of course.
No crafted sentences? - you're not following any poets or authors are you?
little interactivity? - hmm, I've made lots of contacts through Twitter, and some new friends IRL.
Yet, I do believe it's not for everyone and if you can accomplish the same tasks using phones, texts, IM, whatever, then that's fine too. For me, I despise the phone (I was an odd teenage girl) and I don't have cell phone numbers for most of the people I interact with on Twitter.
It's a tool, and not every tool suits every person and their needs.
But I'm connected to several small groups of people -- so discussions tend to form on different subjects. Some of us swap recipe links; some of us swap opinions on movies; others just chat -- not unlike what we'd do 'round a water cooler.
I'm also following our local health unit, so the day they announced no line-ups for flu shots, I was there in less than ten minutes.
I'd agree with you re: the spammers, though, they drive me batty. And of course, if the tool doesn't suit your needs, by all means, don't use it.
Twitter is what you make of it. I love it. I do not use it obsessively. I do enjoy "live Tweeting" while watching a favorite tv show. It's like having a conversation with dozens of other people in real time. This was especially fun for the premiere of Stargate Universe.
I use it to get quickie updates from actors, writers, and producers re: my favorite shows and from the studios. USA is really good for this.
I use it to get library related links from fellow librarians.
In many ways, this is similar to how I use Facebook in many ways, but not everyone I know uses FB and I use my real name there, so only follow people I actually know. On Twitter, I follow people who I find interesting.
Twitter won't replace blogging for me, but sometimes, a blog post is more than I want to write or read.
Some people/services/companies use it to offer specials. I also use it to find out where the NYC Waffle Truck will be each day so I can get a waffle for lunch if it's in my work neighborhood.
There are all sorts of uses for Twitter. I follow what interests me and don't follow what doesn't.
As for other communication methods, I do telephone reference so much I can't bear to look at the phone other times. People can't always answer a phone, but they might get a text later, or yes, a voicemail. But you can send a tweet, too, if they have that enabled. And you can receive the tweets you follow on your phone, too.
There are spammers everywhere. I have to delete more spam comments in my blog moderation cues than I have to deal with them on Twitter. On Twitter, I just block the spammers.
Twitter is just absolutely awful. Tweets are worse than sound bites - you can't get any useful information across in them. I think Twitter was designed solely for people with ADD.
Wow, a lot of reaction. I agree about the whole Iran thing, but without Twitter, I think another platform would have been used. After all, you can update blogs via SMS too.
But, I can understand why people like Twitter. I wasn't joking when I said I hate the name. I feel that I would be more favorably disposed to it if it had a god name :-)
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