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Twitter: Egobitionism or the Real Deal?
Twitter.
MSNBC recently posted a snarky commentary about Twitter’s uselessness.
And also, Twitter is stupid.
It really is. I mean, c’mon. You don’t have to get your bowels in an uproar to know that. Twitter is like an RSS feed to every boring aspect of your friend’s lives. And your friends are boring. How could they not be? Hourly updates on your best bud’s activities get dull pretty fast even if your best bud is Jack Bauer.”
Strong words.
It seems that the folks reading that article don’t feel much differently:
The problem is, the service is growing. Quickly.
As Waxy.org points out, over 8 million messages have been sent since its launch.
“Celebrity” bloggers like Jason Calacanis getting behind the service, and a big push at SXSW have helped Twitter gain industry traction. But I just don’t see 2.5 million messages being sent in the last month as just a flash in the pan.
Sure. Ask the average person you know if they’ve ever heard of Twitter. Bet they haven’t.
But that’s how properties like MySpace, YouTube got their starts. Twitter isn’t a property either. It’s something that anyone with a mobile phone can use, and explain to a friend.
Remember that new, favorite band you “discovered”? And became U2, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, or Radiohead? Twitter may be just that.
Or it may just be Color Me Badd (who on earth took the time to edit that Wikipedia entry?).
But my advice is to pay attention Twitter. The phenomenon is consistent with audiences changing media habits (voyeurism, narcissism, text messaging, blogging, social networking, etc.).
Its open API is allowing some very cool applications to piggyback onto its capabilities. That’s how MySpace blew up, and it may be how Twitter does the same.
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There’s just something that doesn’t feel right to me about Twitter. It should be something I’m into - I like technology, I like to know what people are saying, I’m not afraid someone is going to steal my identity online, and i think the name is cute - but it feels to me like Twitter does the opposite of what it’s supposed to do.
Twitter is a community, where you can share snippets of your day, thoughts, and whatever - no rules! But…there are rules. Anyone could be “listening”, so it feels to me like a lot of what’s shared on Twitter is very abridged and guarded. And this is smart - at this moment, most of the forward-thinking CEO’s and marketing professionals around are keeping a close eye on Twitter, and you never know if one of them is going to be your next boss, or whatever, so it’s good to keep it semi-clean and intelligent.
But when I post something on Twitter, i feel like i’m just shouting into a room - I’m not talking to anyone in particular, because I have no idea who is listening, and no one is talking directly to me. Maybe it’s because I’m a loser and I don’t have enough Twitter friends, but still.
To me, this doesn’t feel like a community - it just feels like a bunch of random comments, floating in space. Maybe I’m not using it right, but i feel like relationships, online or off, are built upon sharing interests, and then tailoring conversation and exchanges to someone’s personality. The feeling that someone knows you is one of the most wonderful feelings in the world, and to me, Twitter seems to be fostering the opposite of that.
Its the difference between someone giving you a scented candle for your birthday, and someone giving you a vinyl toy designed by your favorite artist, or something. Sure, the candle is nice, and a lovely gift, but when someone knows you and your tastes, and they show it, you feel closer to them.
I feel like a lot of what’s being said on Twitter is like a bunch of scented candles…they didn’t know quite what to get you, ( since they don’t really know who “you” are ), so they gave you something perfectly pleasant, but somewhat safe.
What’s your twitter handle? I would like to know where you are at all times.
ischafer. and i’m very boring.