Ok, so I’m on the ball with blogging and au fait with podcasting but I can’t get my head around this twitter malarky. I have friends who twitter but I’m not really sure why so was pleased to see an article about twittering (or is it tweeting?) in a copy of PC World: 8 Ways Twitter Will Change Your Life (why so many caps, eh?) So I read that, and read it again, and still couldn’t see what the attraction was. It seems that what you get is loads of small messages from a variety of sources all day long. Hmm… I’m already in contact with friends and family through email, skype, facebook (not to mention the telephone) – why do I need to have them send me a tweet as well? And I can already find out about the weather, the latest news and gossip from the Internet. What does twitter offer that’s different?
Anyway, I’ve just gone onto some twitter pages to see what all the fuss was about. There are tweets about a book someone has just read, a complaint about relatives, a remark about some snow and details about someone’s breakfast. So then I went onto Stephen Fry’s twitter page (I can see the appeal of saying you’re ‘in contact’ with a famous person) and that tells me: Arrived in steel town of Esch (the letter that begins ’sugar’, ‘Sean’ and ’sure’?). Looks like we’ll be at it till midnight. Well, that’s exciting – needed to know that (not). And I certainly can’t see George Clooney twitting that he’s off to have a coffee somewhere…
So I’m in the dark about this one, unless someone can shed some light. Perhaps my life is too dull to twitter about: Finished blog, time for a cuppa. (Actually, I’m just going to see if George has a twitter… )
Is it possible to be addicted to rooibos tea?
January 27th, 2009 - 10:47 am
Hi Jackie
Welcome to the blogosphere! Nice to see you in here. I haven’t started tweeting yet either. One thing at a time I say. Anyway, best of luck and will be following you with interest!
January 27th, 2009 - 7:15 pm
I’ve been addicted to Twitter for a while now and have come to the conclusion that it is by and large a colossal amount of, well, Twibble (for want of a better word!) Actually I’ve got some really good recommendations from it for interesting websites etc, but the whole ‘what I am doing now’ business is just… digital noise.
It’s also ADD taken to the final extreme, and possibly signals the breakdown of civilised society as we know it… By the way Jackie, how about some video blog entries? Something like this: http://www.mostdays.org
January 28th, 2009 - 1:22 am
I have to say that Twitter for me is essential – think of it as ‘micro-blogging’ and it makes sense. There is a lot of noise out there, but if you set up an account, build a large network of like-minded people and just drop-in and drop-out when you feel like it, then you’ll see the point.
Most people who don’t ‘get’ Twitter have just set up accounts and added three or four people or hundreds of random people. I also recommend using http://www.tweetdeck.com and experiencing Twitter through this – it makes it so much more a valuable tool than if you just go to the site…
January 28th, 2009 - 12:12 pm
[...] friend Jackie has a brand new blog, and asks if Twitter is Twaddle (I’m still on the fence about that one – do leave her a [...]
January 28th, 2009 - 4:16 pm
@ Graham
Thought you might be a big fan! I must admit the idea of having a large network of like-minded people worries me – I can see it getting in the way of my work. Having said that I’ll look at tweetdeck – am always trying to have an open mind!
@ Ben
I think as Graham says it’s obviously making sure it works in a way for you that’s beneficial (I like twibble!)
Actually we have started doing some video blog entries – check out 2.44 Facts about Cyprus. And we did a few others while we were there including videoing a conversation so lots of plans in that direction. And thanks for the plug!
February 6th, 2009 - 2:30 am
I’ve just started using Twitter and yes, if you’re careful about not following people who tell you that they’ve just had a nice shower which has cheered them up, then fine. I also think it’s probably a good idea if you’re living abroad and want your folks and friends back home to get a sense of the rhythms of your daily life. I like the shortness of the format, too. There’s a paradox: the shortness suggests busy people, but many Twitter users are obviously dramatically unbusy. To be explored further.
February 9th, 2009 - 3:42 pm
@ Freddy
Yes, I agree there’s a paradox – and if you are really busy wouldn’t this make you even busier? However, I can see that it could be a great way to find out about new things (so many things, so little time…)
Actually, I’ve just found this:
Which not only helps to explain what twitter’s all about but can do it in loads of different languages too (and dotSUB – an interesting tool for teachers me thinks, another blog on this soon…)