To Tweet or Not to Tweet?

Monday, April 20, 2009



Need opinions.

My first interaction with the current phenomenon, Twitter, was when I read of the story involving my company, FedEx, and the infamous Twitter post which insulted our fair city of Memphis. (If you’re interested in the full story, see link here for full details.)

My initial reaction/comprehension of the online behemoth that is currently eclipsing the social networking scene/craze was that it seemed a little silly. Why do I need another site to post a “status” ? And who really cares what I am doing or thinking every single second?

Good friend and fellow Mac user, Robert, explained to me that the concept was created as sort of a niche-information site. Like you could “follow” the “tweets” of fellow Mac geniuses and one could put a call-out “does anyone know how to fix ____ or ____” and all the people who “follow” you would be specialized enough in your field to immediately send you an answer. Sort of like an internet mass-text.

So how did this site transcend to include my favorite morning radio show Drake and Zeke or even Memphis Daily News writers and the dadgum President of the United States? All of the design blogs I read now have Twitter pages. Jesse told me she follows John Mayer and has found several of his tweets to be very entertaining.

Skeptical at first, I now admit that I am intrigued. I want to join. At this point, however, it’s not so that others will “follow” my tweets, or read my entries. Rather, I seem to come across daily different blog/radio personalities who have a Twitter page, and I want to follow them.

Do you get emails with updates or what? How does this work? Does it only make sense to be on Twitter if you have an iphone (i do not)? Can I be on Twitter and not actually “tweet” myself? Am I a total sell-out for being intrigued to join?

Opinions please.

update: still haven't joined twitter as of 12-23-09

12 comments:

  1. Here's my thing about Twitter:
    Some may claim it is the same as Facebook--I believe that statement is made by Facebookers who have begun using Twitter.

    There is no status on Twitter, just Tweats. These are not "Leslie is working." It is more like "Here is my brief, 120 character thought about working"

    You don't post on someone's Twitter wall. You respond to their Tweat.

    I am a fan, because I like that I can choose whose thoughts I read during the day, and I see it as a creative outlet for random thoughts. (As opposed to Facebook, which is used more for networking and your current status.)

    Hope that makes sense. Please join--you have wonderful random thoughts! You could tweat only "Saved By the Bell" quotes if you wish and still be a success!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous11:58 AM

    Have some self-respect - don't do it.

    ReplyDelete

  3. I think the anonymous comment just says that because the person probably thinks that they are too cool for twitter. I am with Jesse on this. You get to read different people's thoughts, or hear about random food trivia that you had never known before. It isn't like facebook. The only way it is like it is that you have a status, but you wouldn't say the same thing on facebook as you would on twitter. I don't really ever say much, I just read what other people say.

    ReplyDelete

  4. i twitter, but only on about a once-a-day sort of basis...i more do it to read other bloggers and their abilities to condense thoughts so intelligently or wittily or goofily. plus, for the friends i have that are on there, i like getting little momentary glimpses into their day-to-days from afar!

    ReplyDelete

  5. Ok, here's a perfect site to study up on your Twitter jargon: http://tinyurl.com/6cula7

    Also, I correct my previous comment spelling: It's a Tweet.

    And I must add that you don't have to have an iPhone or Blackberry to be able to Tweet on the go--you can text it in.

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)
Proudly designed by Mlekoshi playground