Twitter

[Oliver]

Okay, I'm obviously getting old. What the heck is the fun in "twittering"?

[Gord_in_Toronto]

Okay, I'm obviously getting old. What the heck is the fun in "twittering"?

Best as I can tell it's the ability for you to inform the world about your BMs shortly after you have made them. And for the world to reciprocate.

;)

[TheDaver]

The ability to have people know exactly what I’m doing at any particular moment, and the delusion that they actually care. :D

[Oliver]

Best as I can tell it's the ability for you to inform the world about your BMs shortly after you have made them. And for the world to reciprocate.

;)

The ability to have people know exactly what I’m doing at any particular moment, and the delusion that they actually care. :D


What's a BM and why should anyone care about what someone else is doing ... in their right mind?

[TheDaver]

What's a BM
BM = bowel movement

and why should anyone care about what someone else is doing ... in their right mind?
In their right mind? ;)

[TheDaver]

Oh, by the way, here’s mine:
http://twitter.com/ArrowHead83

[TX50]

But twatter makes me feel so out of touch! My mates and I all have
bluetooth headsets and have a 24/7/365 conference call. Beat that
for interconnectivenessness!

[Oliver]

Well, I tend to think that Twitter is just a fashion-thingy - I cannot imagine the concept to be successful in the long run, so given my age, I consider it as an useless gimmick for "stalkers". :D :p

[LibraryLady]

Oh, dear. (http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1607978/20090327/50_cent.jhtml)

[Gord_in_Toronto]

Well, I tend to think that Twitter is just a fashion-thingy - I cannot imagine the concept to be successful in the long run, so given my age, I consider it as an useless gimmick for "stalkers". :D :p

Actually it is a very useful gimmick for stalkers. Particularly those who intend to blow you up while you are sitting on your toilet. :scared:

[Janus]

In its purest form it's just another way of sharing the minutiae of your day with no one in particular.

What makes it interesting is when you start to mine all the data this produces. For example, you can search the twitter site for the titles of recently released movies. This gives you a quick indicator of how popular they are. Another example is uksnow (http://www.benmarsh.co.uk/snow/). People tweet their local snow conditions and the uksnow site gathers these tweets, and displays them on a map in near real time.

[TheDaver]

Particularly those who intend to blow you up while you are sitting on your toilet. :scared:
Man, that happened to me once. What a wild party that was.…

[Kaylee]

@ TheDaver: TMI! :D

In its purest form it's just another way of sharing the minutiae of your day with no one in particular.


Yes, that’s one of the good things about it. I’m using a similar utility called Facebook.

It’s an easy way to help people feel connected. When someone signs up for Twitter and Facebook its another way of saying its OK to e-mail me about trivialities. But the small trivial things are often the stuff of what intimacy is made up of. When people move away or get busy with their jobs and families – this can help make it less likely that you’ll drift apart – well completely apart.

Other good things about it:


I know people are using it to reconnect to people that they have lost touch with over the years.

Because of the friends features it can be really interesting to see how many people you and your friends and acquaintances know in common. Sometimes its what you expect … and sometimes its not. I’ve been surprised to find out that a couple of people from different parts of my life already knew each other.

I’m active in a couple of volunteer groups – this is a non-spam like way to let people know about petitions and upcoming events.

I’ve been asked to put a small non-profit organization up on Facebook and I did. Still haven’t decided what I’m going to do with it – most likely I will just use it to let people know when the web site has been updated. However, I noticed that other organizations use the feature to ask people to RSVP for an event – so it’s an easy way to remind people about upcoming events and also to let others know how many are going and who’s going. Something people always want to know.


Bottom line -- I think its an effective way to stay in better touch with acqaintences. And yes, I have my friends on Facebook also, but I still e-mail them. The real difference for me is that I now have time to stay in touch with people I might not have had time to stay in touch with otherwise. The etiquette of Twitter and Facebook is that you just put out RSS feed type of info and if people want to respond they will and if they don't -- they won't. These kind of social network web sites make room for light and casual e-communications.

I don't think its a trend, I think it will stick around for the same reason that the Xmas card list has been around for so long. Lots of people want to stay in touch with acqaintences too, not just close friends and family.

[nathan]

Okay, I'm obviously getting old. What the heck is the fun in "twittering"?

If you are six years old, it's fun to shout, 'hey look at me, I can jump!'

[Terry]

Twitter is a way of sending messages where they are short enough that, if they get read at all, they get read all the way through. Unlike email, forum posts, or anything else that allows more than one line.

[LibraryLady]

Twitter is a way of sending messages where they are short enough that, if they get read at all, they get read all the way through. Unlike email, forum posts, or anything else that allows more than one line.

Oh?

[Tanja]

I use twitter to follow celebrities I find interesting - mostly UK comedians and TV personalities like Stephen Fry, Alan Davies, Bill Bailey, David Mitchell etc. I hardly tweet at all (with all the time I spend on Facebook I hardly have any time at all for Twitter ;)).

[jsiv]

Just heading to the fridge to get something to drink.

[jsiv]

Back from the fridge with a nice cold beverage.

[jsiv]

I am now consuming said beverage.

[jsiv]

The beverage is good.

[Giggywig]

It's like a blog for lazy people.

[boooeee]

Did something happen to jsiv? I'm getting worried.

[jsiv]

Still alive!

[jsiv]

Just heading to the bathroom.

[Kaylee]

I use twitter to follow celebrities I find interesting - mostly UK comedians and TV personalities like Stephen Fry, Alan Davies, Bill Bailey, David Mitchell etc. I hardly tweet at all (with all the time I spend on Facebook I hardly have any time at all for Twitter ;)).

Tanja, can you describe any differences between twitter and facebook?

For everyone else -- a thread on Facebook where many of the posters had a more positive opinion ...

http://forums.randi.org/showthread.php?t=133911&highlight=facebook

I wonder how much that has to do with this thread being in the Computers forum and the other one being in the Community forum? :)

[Aerik]

Gord, do you know you just insulted many people's idols here, such as many podcasters and bloggers?

[logical muse]

http://i39.tinypic.com/24w7ed0.jpg

[Gord_in_Toronto]

Gord, do you know you just insulted many people's idols here, such as many podcasters and bloggers?

Well as a matter of fact I do. :D I would say more but I can't fit it into a 125 characte

[Bikewer]

Quite a few NPR listeners are using Twitter to post questions or comments on the various call-in shows like Talk Of The Nation and Science Friday.

I can't see myself using it at present; I despise trying to "text", and can't imagine what I'd do with the thing. Still, I said much the same thing about the computer some years ago....

[Oliver]

Still, I said much the same thing about the computer some years ago....


Well, I said much the same thing about the USB-Missile-Launcher (http://www.geekalerts.com/u/usb-rocket-launcher-cam.jpg), the laser guided Scissors (http://regmedia.co.uk/2008/04/30/laser_guided_scissors.jpg) and the Retro CellPhone Handset (http://www.our-picks.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/11/handset-new2.jpg) some years ago.... :D

[Bikewer]

I am the proud owner of a USB missile launcher.... So is the chief of our department. His only has two missiles, however; mine has THREE.

[CryoTank]

I quite enjoyed the live-coverage of the Discovery launch and landing by NASA and especially the BadAstronomer. While watching the live stream, Phil would give some details as to what the techies were talking about.

But yes, there is a lot of BS BM talk on Twitter. It's fun as long as your grasp on reality doesn't get too impaired ;)

[rdaneel]

I use twitter to follow celebrities I find interesting - mostly UK comedians and TV personalities like Stephen Fry, Alan Davies, Bill Bailey, David Mitchell etc. I hardly tweet at all (with all the time I spend on Facebook I hardly have any time at all for Twitter ;)).
That seems to be the biggest attraction right now, following celebrities. The downside is, not all celebritweets are genuine (http://hijinksensue.com/2009/03/30/ghost-tweeting-the-whip/). :D

[Ysidro]

Twitter is a way of sending messages where they are short enough that, if they get read at all, they get read all the way through. Unlike email, forum posts, or anything else that allows more than one line.

tl;dr

[One Skunk Todd]

Twitter is another step in the advancement of ubiquitous surveillance being made acceptable and fun for the whole family! :)

Why spy on people when they'll do it for you?

[Tanja]

That seems to be the biggest attraction right now, following celebrities. The downside is, not all celebritweets are genuine (http://hijinksensue.com/2009/03/30/ghost-tweeting-the-whip/). :D

My heart was broken when I found out Christopher Walken I was following wasn't real...I am pretty sure the rest I am following are genuine.

[Tanja]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/apr/01/guardian-twitter-media-technology
:d

[negativ]

I refuse to be a part of any endeavor whose other participants use the verb "to tweet" without feeling embarrassed about it.

Then again, I also think the word "blog" sounds stupid as hell, but I long ago gave up fighting that one.

[portlandatheist]

Well, I said much the same thing about the USB-Missile-Launcher (http://www.geekalerts.com/u/usb-rocket-launcher-cam.jpg), the laser guided Scissors (http://regmedia.co.uk/2008/04/30/laser_guided_scissors.jpg) and the Retro CellPhone Handset (http://www.our-picks.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/11/handset-new2.jpg) some years ago.... :D

Retro handset! How cool is that! And they even come in Bluetooth! I want one.

[Cl1mh4224rd]

http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2008/4/23/ :boxedin: