How many of you have Twitter accounts? Is it worthwhile? I want to be able to login to get a feel for the user-experience, but I really don't want to have to keep track of yet another online account.
It's good for reading and posting things by/for people who have Twitter, and it has an advantage over the Facebook status line in that the tweets seem to be archived permanently, maybe, I think, whereas older Facebook status updates seem to be lost forever. However, I find it really awkward to have any kind of conversation on Twitter because anything you say is going to be broadcast out of context to all your friends, whereas in Facebook or blogs, you can comment on things (so even if I have a comment, I rarely reply on Twitter). So I would say, sign up if all your friends have signed up and you want to read their tweets or post tweets for them. How annoying it is to keep up with depends on how much your friends tweet. I only signed up because my mom signed up after her siblings signed up, but I tend to use it for short random posts that are too short or boring for LJ. Also, you get a lot of follow notices from spam, but I think there might be a way to prevent that.
Yeah, the only reason that I'm curious is because it would be handy to follow some local news (sailing alerts, schooner cruise cancellations, etc) and Q/A-format info from our metrics software company.
I agree that the format is really awkward and confusing with so much out of context. It really irritates me when I see pages where all people do is post the first 140 words of some announcement with ... and a tiny link. I would rather follow an RSS page - it's easier on the eyes. On the other hand, I do remember checking out a Twitter account that was "kept by" the Mars Rover or some other machine out in space and it was pretty neat and amusing to see what the little thing was up to and what the weather on Mars is like :)
Yeah, and sometimes there seem to be messages longer than 140 with a clickable [...] but clicking it doesn't actually display the message and the rest of the message is just inaccessible. Maybe I caught them in the middle of fiddling with some feature that time.
It isn't worth it. The shortness of the messages means that everyone ends up making stupid observations constantly, without any effort to add in insight.
Of course, I am anti-Facebook, too, and I am trying to clean up the mess after someone created an account for me against my will.
I have a Facebook account that I log into only when a relative or old friend adds me as a friend. It's my digital address book, and sometimes an amusing way to surprise everyone with random status posts about kepi, schooners, or cw.
There are some people who use Twitter in very thought provoking ways. You could argue they're in the minority, but there's no reason you need to follow people you don't find worthwhile!
Short quotes are often regarded as insightful or inspiring. So can 140 character messages (which can include links), especially if one develops lines of thought over time.
I never thought I'd be into Twitter after it came out, but I made an account a couple months ago and I really enjoy it. I don't have a problem with the shortness of the messages; a lot of the time all I have to say encompasses one or two sentences, so I'll just put it on there and be done with it. It's also nice being able to read the postings of news figures/celebrities/politicians etc who I like and can't necessarily follow on any other type of blog. Some of them can be quite witty and amusing. So, yeah, I think it's worthwhile.
it can be worthwhileolifharNovember 26 2009, 06:17:40 UTC
Key is: you must use it for more than just telling people what you're doing. Otherwise, it's really just another distraction, IMO. I use Twitter to manage todo lists (using Remember the Milk) and track my workflow. A lot of people use it to promote themselves, or just share interesting news and thoughts on a particular topic. Lastly, an important aspect of Twitter is the ease with which you can listen in or join conversations.
It's also a handy broadcast/communication tool, even if you just use the direct messaging function. (DMs are updated on the site, but also go to SMS and Email.)
Re: it can be worthwhilejehoshabeathNovember 26 2009, 15:46:50 UTC
Ah, I never heard of using it to manage to-do lists. How do you keep the active items separate from the completed items?
At first when I was searching Twitter, I think my queries were too broad, because I got a lot of results that weren't very interesting. (For example, "morse code" didn't get me much.) I've found a few more specific terms to use though (such as "lcwo.net" an online morse code training tool), and found a couple interesting folks who are learning cw. Cool! I guess it all goes back to developing strategies to access and manage the information that is out there.
I haven't used DM yet. Would a DM appear directly on your homepage in some noticeable way?
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I agree that the format is really awkward and confusing with so much out of context. It really irritates me when I see pages where all people do is post the first 140 words of some announcement with ... and a tiny link. I would rather follow an RSS page - it's easier on the eyes. On the other hand, I do remember checking out a Twitter account that was "kept by" the Mars Rover or some other machine out in space and it was pretty neat and amusing to see what the little thing was up to and what the weather on Mars is like :)
Thanks for your input!
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Of course, I am anti-Facebook, too, and I am trying to clean up the mess after someone created an account for me against my will.
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I have a Facebook account that I log into only when a relative or old friend adds me as a friend. It's my digital address book, and sometimes an amusing way to surprise everyone with random status posts about kepi, schooners, or cw.
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Examples of people with very good info are:
Jay Rosen (NYU Journalism professor)
Ken Mogi (Brain Scientist)
Michael Vassar (Futurist)
Short quotes are often regarded as insightful or inspiring. So can 140 character messages (which can include links), especially if one develops lines of thought over time.
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And as far as brief text limit goes, if there are enough letters to contain a haiku or a koan, then there is ample space for thought! :)
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It's also a handy broadcast/communication tool, even if you just use the direct messaging function. (DMs are updated on the site, but also go to SMS and Email.)
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At first when I was searching Twitter, I think my queries were too broad, because I got a lot of results that weren't very interesting. (For example, "morse code" didn't get me much.) I've found a few more specific terms to use though (such as "lcwo.net" an online morse code training tool), and found a couple interesting folks who are learning cw. Cool! I guess it all goes back to developing strategies to access and manage the information that is out there.
I haven't used DM yet. Would a DM appear directly on your homepage in some noticeable way?
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