Sitting on a hill eating my hat…
by asi
Yes, yes I’m on Twitter (If I wore a hoodie I’d be covering my face with it in shame). Damn that social pressure. But I guess that after my hasty, bossy sneer back in Feb 2007, I ought to explain why I finally broke and got on board…
The shortest answer is that I was simply wrong. I completely underestimated the flexibility of the platform and the resourcefulness of the users/community to make Twitter what it is today. And indeed usage of Twitter has changed quite dramatically since it started as simply status updates of ‘what are you doing now’.
The way I see it, (and the main reason I decided to join) Twitter expanded texting (SMS) behaviour to a far greater circles than each of us have. The immediacy of throwing something to the twittersphere and getting replies in minutes is for me, the key forte of the platform. Put differently, it’s the only way or me to get hold of David – emails and facebook are non existent 
. So it’s less about the short personal stories and more about the multiple micro-conversations, exchange of ideas, links and blurbs – this was the main reason of my feeling that I’m left out of the party and not staying on top of what is happening.
As a self-aware junkie and a sucker for good conversations I need to be really careful not to be drowned in tweets. And I’m determined NOT to let Twitter take over blogging – reading AND writing.
I’d love to hear any good tips on maintaining a normal, fairly productive life with Twitter – Mack? Andy? Dino? Neil? anyone?
I’m the wrong person to ask. I think the secret is to not think about it, which I fail to do. When I think, I don’t post, because it still seems weird. I think about the fact that I don’t text my friends enough and that here I am ‘texting’ the ether to tell ‘someone’ something they probably don’t want to know.
Don’t think, just tweet.
Your reason for “caving” in and joining Twitter is one of the reasons I listed in my most recent blog post about five ways Twitter will make you smarter. Having access to a larger circle of very smart people gives you great opportunity to give and receive insights, questions, etc.
Take this all with a grain of salt my man
Be picky about who you follow.
Don’t feel compelled to follow everyone who follows you (trust me)
Add a few people to your mobile updates. Twitter is much, much different on a mobile phone than on the web. It’s much more intimate and feels quite personal, so be selective.
I like Andy’s advice about not thinking about it too much. Just have fun with it, and don’t overcook it.
Twitter while intoxicated. It makes for a great read the next day.
Use the Direct Message feature when carrying on a prolonged personal conversation. Personal tweets that go back and forth forever are irritating to everyone else!
That’s it for now Asi
Brilliant – thanks loads
Dino you are ace
A.
I was about a million light years behind the twitter revolution but recently joined and must say am hooked in a very short period of time.