< Where is Entrecard headed? - Interview with Graham Langdon : The future of blogging forums, part 1 >
Twitter is a cross between a personalised chat room, instant messaging, and "micro-blogging". I haven't done a beginner's guide to Twitter yet, but if you'd like me to, I'll write one soon. (Let me know!)Is Twitter a waste of time?
Some people think that it is, because you don't need to know somebody's life in blow by blow detail. You don't need to know what they ate for breakfast, that they're happy or sad, how long it took to get to work, what they're thinking at any time of the day, and so on.While I've heard those comments about Twitter, I have also heard the same comments made about something that's probably closer to your heart: blogging!
Perceptions of blogging
I've read comments from people who think that blogs are only written by people who have too much time on their hands, who have "a sense of over-importance", and that they should get into the real world.Equally, some bloggers feel very strongly about Twitter and think it's full of mindless chatter and spam.
These things can be anything or they can be nothing. It depends what you do with them and who you connect with. If something doesn't work for you, don't blame that site.
We are all different
Some people like blogs, some do not. Some like Twitter, some don't. Some people like anything that's new. Some people don't like change.If you don't like a site, nobody is forcing you to use it. Why not move on and give the people who enjoy that site a break?
Did you like this post? Subscribe today!
Comments
People don't like other people shaking their world view. It seems to be the number one complaint for quite a lot of things, blogging and Twitter included.
"People who Twitter waste their time!" screams "I wish I could waste my time, but I won't, because I'm responsible (or I just simply can't)! Why are all these people not responsible? Is there something wrong with me? No, of course not! All those other people are stupid! I will tell them and they will feel ashamed and I will be RIGHT!"
s/Twitter/blog/
*sigh*
I realise Twitter is meant to be another social networking site... I prefer to think of it as more like facebook for my internet friends. People I don't necessarily want to share my family photos with but people I don't mind sharing the moment where I'm watching '27 Dresses' lol
I think people need to realise that just because something doesn't work for them that doesn't mean it can't exist for the other millions of people there are out there in the world.
Good points. I'm just recently starting to see the value of Twitter - in fact I posted about it on my blog just yesterday.
SB
I signed up for twitter but haven't gotten around to actually USING it yet. I think I'm a tad overcommitted at the moment. :/
I signed up for twitter just cos I saw some of my friends using it but I have still yet to be convinced personally that it is really worth committing my time to it. Blogging on the other hand I believe it is an avenue for people to voice their opinions and thoughts on a certain topic/issue that might benefit others. So to date as I stand, I still feel blogging is of more value compared to twitter. :)
Colin - lol. Yep, we're all different, some of us enjoy Twitter whereas others aren't all that interested. I see no reason why people should try and spoil the fun for those of us who like it.
AJ - I know what you mean. My reply to Colin applies here too. :)
fragileheart - you summed up my thoughts in one sentence (the last one). Should I be more concise? ;)
Scott - nice post - so far, most of my Twitter posts have been replies. I am trying to write more interesting things on Twitter so I am not just writing replies. Maybe it'll work!
Lightening - let me know when you've balanced your time, and we can say hi on Twitter. :)
Jasmine - where I've found Twitter particularly useful is asking short questions to help form a future post. Might be worth a try, especially if you're short on content.
Thanks for all the comments. :)
I resisted getting on Twitter for a long time. I didn't need one more addictive thing to try to keep up on. But so far, I haven't been completely glued to it. I enjoy using it several times a day, and I don't follow too many people, so I can actually communicate with the ones I have in my group. Also, I bumped into a stranger on Twitter who has been extremely helpful with my tech questions, and I think most people are very friendly. As for the spammy users, you can choose not to follow them, or completely block them. No big deal. Overall, it's pretty fun. :-)
Hi GeekMom, I'm still experimenting with it to see what works for me and what doesn't. I seem to follow people who say hardly anything or who tweet more often than I can keep up with. Haven't found many people in the middle yet.
I can't agree more either. You have the points there. I have been abandoning my Twitter account for some time until recently I feel I want to get my hands back on it. It depends on who you are following. Surprisingly, I always get introduced to great articles via Twitter.
This is a great post.
Welcome, Blogging For Novice, and thanks for the comment. :) I followed you on Twitter, too.
Sorry it took me a while to answer your question Ben.. not everyone responds to comments like you do so I tend to forget to look at old posts. I don't think you need to be more concise :) I was just agreeing with you! hehe just so happened that I summarized your entire post into one sentence haha
OK, so if you forget to look at old posts, what made you come back to this? Just curious! :)
I couldn't agree more. We are all adults and can make rational choices on how we want to spend out time. I like Twitter sometimes, blogging sometimes and digging in the garden on other days. My wife would prefer that I just dug in the garden. She thinks Twitter is too stupid for words and only just tolerates blogging. We are still married despite this chasm in tolerance for virtual communication.