Twitter Haze
Posted at 9:17 am on Wednesday, May 13, 2009, in Technology, and tagged flickr, microsoft, twitter, vimeo.
I know that I just blogged that Twitter is “as substantive as a pet rock,” and although I think that that is true, Twitter nevertheless can be an effective way of communicating, albeit 140 characters (spaces included) at a time. It is akin to walking into a crowded bar and hearing what everyone is saying. Is that a good thing? Maybe. It certainly is not going to hurt anyone, as anyone disinterested can simply walk back out the front door. Is it a new frontier? No. It’s an open-forum, an email help line, a heap of one-liners and links to nothings. At the very same time, it is the best and worst of what the blogosphere truly is. And what that is, I don’t really know. I don’t think anyone does.
Some people suggest that Twitter is the next great form of communication. I hope not. I like meeting people, shaking their hands, not anonymously following their Twitter @handles. Similarly, I would rather visit a new place, not watch a virtual walk-through.
But again, Twitter has its uses. I can see how a company would want to know what people are saying about their product. It is the same as doing a real-time blog search, but in the case of Twitter, it is available in one location. At the same time — if you choose — you can reply to individuals who have made statements about your product. In a way, Twitter may replace the toll-free help lines that are always busy anyway. That would be a good thing. But is it the next great form of communication?
Will we be able to read the New York Times 140 characters at a time? Some people think so. I do not.
Does Twitter replace the sincerity and privacy of an email to a close friend? No.
Does Twitter replace the value of sharing photos and video on Flickr and Vimeo, or the value of a story or anecdote about a person’s travel or daily life written at length in the form of a blog? No, I truly do not think so.
I think there is also value in privacy. Again, some people may say that I am missing the point on this, but although I think the funny thing I just thought of is brilliant (quite brilliant), that doesn’t mean it must be shared instantly and publicly. Sure, it can be, but that has always been the case (refrigerator doors in the office kitchen, message boards online, blogs, Facebook, and now Twitter); doing so is nothing new.
And posting the one-liner will not change the way I or anyone else lives their life, at least in a meaningful way (besides the opportunity to print a custom t-shirt with a random tweet on the front, that is). People will say that is not the point. I say it is. I think we need to target our goals (and values) for this new and growing technology into providing substance, not fluff. An endless posting of thoughts — however humorous they may be (and some are) — is the water cooler effect. It is not the board room. It does not have real world value.
I will repeat that I would love to re-discover a tech blog that isn’t simply gaga over Twitter, and honestly scrutinizes a company, a framework and a technology that is very much so unprofitable. Maybe Microsoft will buy Twitter and everyone would come to hate it?
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May 13th, 2009 at 12:37 pm
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