Publishing 2.0: Why I’ve Started Using Twitter Again
Darren Rowse
· 1 year ago
good to see you back on. I've only recently started using it again too (3-4 weeks ago) and am being a lot more targeted in how I use it too (although am following everyone so far - a cull might be coming as 99% of it is fluff).
Will be interested to watch how you use it :-)
Duane Brown
· 1 year ago
I just started using Twitter again. We'll see how it goes. I'll use it the same way I use Facebook, it's about the quality of people you are connected with and not the quantity.
Feel free to check out my blog and follow me on Twitter, only if it interests you.
Scott--there are some good journalistic uses of twitter, like live twittering events, speeches, etc. Check out Marc Ambinder at the Atlantic Monthly who is getting into using twitter as part of his primary coverage. Also Exit133.com in Tacoma has tried live-twittering City Council meetings as part of its coverage of local government.
Mark Evans
· 1 year ago
Scott,
Welcome back to Twitter. I recently climbed on the bandwagon after coming the realization it's a pretty interesting way to consume and distribute information. That said, Twitter - likes Facebook - requires discipline, otherwise it can be anti-productive. I've started by following a limited number of people but shy away from those who Twitter about everything and anything, which I find inane.
Chris Brogan...
· 1 year ago
Glad you're on, but wait a second. Here's something to consider: if your 40 are only people you "know" or have met in some form or fashion, you're limiting your potential data set. Do only people you know have interesting links and ideas? Do only people you know find the good stuff?
That'd kind of WHY people talk about how cool Twitter is. It's not because we know when people we "know" are going out for a sandwich, it's because people we've come to realize have great links, pointers, ideas, and conversation starters have added to the overall data.
Sure it's harder to follow, and okay, if you're just easing in, cool! (Glad you're back). But I'd urge you to consider your criteria for who you choose to add. Just my 74 cents.
Scott Karp
· 1 year ago
Chris,
Here's the problem, too many people mix in tweet about going to get a sandwich, and unless I know them, i.e. some reason to care about the minutia of their lives, then it's just too much noise.
In other words, I'll take few links, ideas, etc. in return for less noise -- last time, the noise killed the experience.
"Sure it’s harder to follow"
Here's my expectation of web technology and communities -- I want it to be overflowing with value, and I want it to be easier.
Big limiting factor now is a lot of people I know aren't using Twitter -- if Twitter really is the revolution, these people will use it eventually. I'm content to wait.
Don Lafferty
· 1 year ago
I'm agree that you should choose your Twitter connections judiciously, I’m just not certain a cap is prudent.
Brogan’s comment is worth considering.
I advocate working backwards from your objectives when building EACH of your Twitter networks and setting your connection criteria accordingly. You can easily step in and out of the conversation, and while it’s easy to catch up on the conversation fairly quickly, digesting the bounty of links can be a weighty assignment.
Chris Brogan...
· 1 year ago
Scott-
Good point. Unless you've built some rapport, sandwich twitterers (or stuck at airport, or even me in bad traffic) aren't really "useful."
Then again, I'm not waiting for Twitter to solve the "interesting gate" problem (I think we need tools to onramp specific "good" tweets instead of their favoriting system- shared items for tweets).
And again, thrilled you're in the game again!
--Chris...
Ty
· 1 year ago
Twitter's interesting; I've spent so long avoiding these sorts of technologies, now I see how my grandfather must have felt when the internet first came into being.
It's also interesting to see how many sites exist that are trying to make location based services work. I'm curious to see where www.whrrl.com is going with their site, which seems to be Twitter plus Yelp.
Max Kalehoff
· 1 year ago
Scott, A late comment here, but here's exactly the reason I use Twitter: to ask questions of my network — and answer their questions. It's a live network, a focus group of like-minded peers. There's something to the spontaneity -- a different experience, and often more valuable exchanges. But the spontaneity is optional; there's not the same annoying obligation to participate that you might get with IM or regular chat.
Btw, I'm "honored" you still follow me, and respond with value. Max
ale x harris - alex designs ll
· 1 year ago
I think there are multiple levels of thinking and thus we use different tools to document that self expression. I have multiple blogs for different interests and then twitter for the mini-thoughts that cant be blogged.
First time commenter and new follower
Ike Pigott
· 1 year ago
Hi Scott...
Then, there are the times when I have had a few moments to just read the Twitter stream. Like when Peter Shankman had just landed in San Francisco, and needed quick info on the BARTA schedule. A quick search on my part, and he had the mobile site that gave him everything he needed.
Twitter isn't a hammer that you need every day, but it can be the specialty tool that you didn't know you couldn't live without. Like you've said, it is so simple that most people don't know what to do with it. So be creative.
Julia Roy
· 1 year ago
Your only following 50 of your 450 followers back... what's up with that?!?!
Ken Leebow
· 1 year ago
I've yet to see a Twitter site that is worth following. As it is, there's too much information on the Net. Twitter just adds to the clutter.
Ike Pigott
· 1 year ago
Ken -- if you've got too much clutter, then you opt-out of those who provide the clutter.
The "Public Timeline" is not a good gauge. Twitter is best with a reasonable circle of like-minded people - all able to query the hive-mind when necessary.
Trust me. I've experimented with larger circles, and while interesting, I'm getting less out of it. I am in the process of pruning back my follow list to those who actually engage *me* and not just my interests.
All Comments
Will be interested to watch how you use it :-)
Feel free to check out my blog and follow me on Twitter, only if it interests you.
http://twitter.com/duanebrown
Welcome back to Twitter. I recently climbed on the bandwagon after coming the realization it's a pretty interesting way to consume and distribute information. That said, Twitter - likes Facebook - requires discipline, otherwise it can be anti-productive. I've started by following a limited number of people but shy away from those who Twitter about everything and anything, which I find inane.
That'd kind of WHY people talk about how cool Twitter is. It's not because we know when people we "know" are going out for a sandwich, it's because people we've come to realize have great links, pointers, ideas, and conversation starters have added to the overall data.
Sure it's harder to follow, and okay, if you're just easing in, cool! (Glad you're back). But I'd urge you to consider your criteria for who you choose to add. Just my 74 cents.
Here's the problem, too many people mix in tweet about going to get a sandwich, and unless I know them, i.e. some reason to care about the minutia of their lives, then it's just too much noise.
In other words, I'll take few links, ideas, etc. in return for less noise -- last time, the noise killed the experience.
"Sure it’s harder to follow"
Here's my expectation of web technology and communities -- I want it to be overflowing with value, and I want it to be easier.
Big limiting factor now is a lot of people I know aren't using Twitter -- if Twitter really is the revolution, these people will use it eventually. I'm content to wait.
Brogan’s comment is worth considering.
I advocate working backwards from your objectives when building EACH of your Twitter networks and setting your connection criteria accordingly. You can easily step in and out of the conversation, and while it’s easy to catch up on the conversation fairly quickly, digesting the bounty of links can be a weighty assignment.
Good point. Unless you've built some rapport, sandwich twitterers (or stuck at airport, or even me in bad traffic) aren't really "useful."
Then again, I'm not waiting for Twitter to solve the "interesting gate" problem (I think we need tools to onramp specific "good" tweets instead of their favoriting system- shared items for tweets).
And again, thrilled you're in the game again!
--Chris...
It's also interesting to see how many sites exist that are trying to make location based services work. I'm curious to see where www.whrrl.com is going with their site, which seems to be Twitter plus Yelp.
A late comment here, but here's exactly the reason I use Twitter: to ask questions of my network — and answer their questions. It's a live network, a focus group of like-minded peers. There's something to the spontaneity -- a different experience, and often more valuable exchanges. But the spontaneity is optional; there's not the same annoying obligation to participate that you might get with IM or regular chat.
Btw, I'm "honored" you still follow me, and respond with value.
Max
First time commenter and new follower
Then, there are the times when I have had a few moments to just read the Twitter stream. Like when Peter Shankman had just landed in San Francisco, and needed quick info on the BARTA schedule. A quick search on my part, and he had the mobile site that gave him everything he needed.
Twitter isn't a hammer that you need every day, but it can be the specialty tool that you didn't know you couldn't live without. Like you've said, it is so simple that most people don't know what to do with it. So be creative.
The "Public Timeline" is not a good gauge. Twitter is best with a reasonable circle of like-minded people - all able to query the hive-mind when necessary.
Trust me. I've experimented with larger circles, and while interesting, I'm getting less out of it. I am in the process of pruning back my follow list to those who actually engage *me* and not just my interests.