# Twitter



## TMMKC (Aug 2, 2007)

What's the general consensus on the fora about Twitter? I've been "tweeting" for a few months now (and not much...and mostly business/industry related stuff...plus the occasional baseball rant), but I'm not convinced it's anything more than the flavor-of-the-month.

I am coming to the conclusion that it's a fairly narcissictic, one-way communication that ultimately engages no one. And, after all, isn't that what social media is supposed to be about? Easy, quick access that engages people and companies in a timely dialog?


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## hellomarty (May 9, 2009)

I think Twitter is here to stay.

I don't Twitter, don't plan to either, but I think the current 21 and under generation will use it and continue to grow it.

Some businesses feel like they have to use it, but for me, no thanks. If I was twittering, how would I TALK to my clients? TALKING and personal service is what I do.


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## mrkleen (Sep 21, 2007)

There are lot of interesting ways to use Twitter as a legitimate business tool.

Tweeting from the floor of a major industry trade show about new products, keynote speeches etc is a great way to grow traffic to your company blog and feeds.

Getting together a bunch of respected industry experts and asking them to tweet about new innovations on a weekly basis is another.

The average person tweeting that they had a turkey on rye for lunch is certain egotistical and a waste of time. But to write off the entire platform or worse, social networking in general simply because you haven't found the right way to use it, seems a bit misguided.


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## hellomarty (May 9, 2009)

mrkleen said:


> There are lot of interesting ways to use Twitter as a legitimate business tool.
> 
> Tweeting from the floor of a major industry trade show about new products, keynote speeches etc is a great way to grow traffic to your company blog and feeds.
> 
> ...


I Facebook, and use MSN Messenger + AIM. Was blogging, but didn't stick to it.


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## Nerev (Apr 25, 2009)

Ugh, not a fan of Twitter, and instant messaging from her cellphone. I just prefer calling and talking to someone. My wife loves to instant message, and her two hours of back and forth typing could have just been a 5 minute phone call. I do think it is here to stay though, just too many yonger people using it and will continue to.

I'm also not a fan of social networks too. Sorry, but again, I prefer just a phone call or letter to catch up. Better yet, let's have lunch. Also, I've interviewed people and while I don't go onto social networks to look into them, I've got friends in human resources in other companies that do. Nothing kills a possible job offer like yoy drunk, naked butt riding on a donkey in Mexico.


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## smujd (Mar 18, 2008)

I just don't "get" Twitter. Why anyone would be interested in random updates of another's life ("getting hair cut. Going to Starbucks") is beyon dme.


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## Helvetia (Apr 8, 2008)

Twitter only seems useful if you have a large group to keep updated. I've found that Facebook suits me best to keep my family and friends updated as to my life's happenings.


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## pt4u67 (Apr 27, 2006)

It is perhaps the most useless and inane application of technology. I wonder if anyone bothers reading a book anymore.


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## hellomarty (May 9, 2009)

pt4u67 said:


> It is perhaps the most useless and inane application of technology. I wonder if anyone bothers reading a book anymore.


Sony E-Book Reader! currently reading Outliers.


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## rgrossicone (Jan 27, 2008)

I signed up last week...not sure yet, pretty boring, but may consider using it for HW assignments next year for my students.


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## Pentheos (Jun 30, 2008)

I wish the AAAC trad exchange thread had its own twitter account. Summaries of what's new. Too much to hope for.


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## Piscator (Dec 4, 2008)

Pentheos said:


> I wish the AAAC trad exchange thread had its own twitter account. Summaries of what's new. Too much to hope for.


Ooh...great idea, especially if it could be done automatically.


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## Piscator (Dec 4, 2008)

TMMKC said:


> What's the general consensus on the fora about Twitter? I've been "tweeting" for a few months now (and not much...and mostly business/industry related stuff...plus the occasional baseball rant), but I'm not convinced it's anything more than the flavor-of-the-month.
> 
> I am coming to the conclusion that it's a fairly narcissictic, one-way communication that ultimately engages no one. And, after all, isn't that what social media is supposed to be about? Easy, quick access that engages people and companies in a timely dialog?


I've been tweeting for about a year now...I still don't understand why anyone would follow me, but a few do.

On the other hand, I've found it to be excellent for receiving information. I get tweets from news sources, online vendors, etc, anytime something new comes out. For now, it is "cleaner" than email in the sense that the messages are required to be short, and it is just text.

Minor annoyance...any time I tweet something like "guitar", I automatically get several messages announcing that ole so-and-so is now following me on Twitter...turns out, they are simply looking for marketing opportunities. I just block them and go on with my life.


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## TMMKC (Aug 2, 2007)

Good insights. A couple of my clients tweet (mostly to trickle out news releases, quarterly financial filings and annual report links), and I've encouraged others to look into it, if only to stay current. It may very well be here to stay, but I wonder...a couple years from now...how many people will be truly engaged in it after the novelty has worn off. I find myself tweeting less and less (not like I ever did much anyway).

As a previous poster wrote, I'd much rather have an on-point five minute phone conversation than 10 tweets or text messages.


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## sleats (Oct 27, 2008)

signed up on Twitter a few weeks back for the company, new thing to me but trying to update it with more regularity...need more followers of course so please feel free to follow!!

https://twitter.com/Cadandthedandy


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## FIHTies (Jun 24, 2004)

pt4u67 said:


> It is perhaps the most useless and inane application of technology.


Interesting generalization.

I currently have 100 followers for our kids store who run into the store when I tweet that we have received new merchandise who beg to differ with you.


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## perryw (Sep 22, 2008)

I think that its usefulness probably hasn't been fully discovered yet. Comcast has a guy watching it for customer service issues, I follow LL Bean and Lands End accounts for info on sales and stuff, follow my towns account for info on local events, etc. I being on the receiving end of short bursts of information from people that interest me. I'm somewhat of an Indy car fan, so I follow a couple drivers - one has a person tweet about what's going on during races!

Information is making it out to the world from Iran via twitter when other forms of media are being blocked.

There are a lot of spammers on there.. some more subtle than others. I'm VERY wary of people that start following me from random places. Most of them end up being blocked.

There's something that lets your plants can tweet when they need water. So, yea, the full usefulness has not been discovered :icon_smile_wink:

Me? @plw4


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## newtothis (Apr 13, 2009)

I use Facebook, I have enough trouble keeping up with one social networking site.


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## Piscator (Dec 4, 2008)

Here's a link to a NYT article describing a recent international motivation for the usefulness of Twitter...hadn't thought of this aspect before.


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## Gradstudent78 (May 7, 2003)

Piscator said:


> Here's a link to a NYT article describing a recent international motivation for the usefulness of Twitter...hadn't thought of this aspect before.


Interesting, reminds of what happened in guatemala over a month ago w/ a video posted to youtube:
https://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/may/17/guatemala-rosenberg-youtube-murder-de-colom


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## ajo (Oct 22, 2007)

pt4u67 said:


> It is perhaps the most useless and inane application of technology. I wonder if anyone bothers reading a book anymore.


I concur this fad for constant instantaneous communications and being in touch has reached absurd proportions. And as the parent of a teenager I find that its having a detrimental effect on their lives. My wife works at a Catholic High School and its the bane of the staffs life.

As for reading a good book yes a hard copy so you can turn the pages, and no I don't want an electronic reader thank you. Well I just read Ranson by David Malouf, a well crafted retelling of segment of The Iliad, an absolutely beautiful, yet economical command of the english language by a master craftsman.

And I just received a copy of Eiffel's Tower by Jill Jones.

What with being stuck in the depths of winter there is nothing better that to just relax with a stimulating read.


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## Cardcaptor Charlie (Jul 7, 2008)

I am firmly planted into Farcebook. Twitter seems only to be about what in Facebook is the 'wall post'. However, I think your 'tweets' are linked to FB and when you tweet it goes up on your FB wall as well. Personally, I won't sign up to Twitter as FB is sufficent for my needs.


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## Dashiell.Valentine (Dec 18, 2008)

I think that advances in technology such as twitter will lead to a greater division between tech people and other semi-ludites such as myself. I'll continue to network with people who apprciate low-tech leisure activities like game nights, books and boating or camping etc. And those who enjoy being soical tech butterflies will have each other. Doesn't seem like a problem to me, but I know which camp I'll be in.


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## perryw (Sep 22, 2008)

Cardcaptor Charlie said:


> I am firmly planted into Farcebook. Twitter seems only to be about what in Facebook is the 'wall post'. However, I think your 'tweets' are linked to FB and when you tweet it goes up on your FB wall as well. Personally, I won't sign up to Twitter as FB is sufficent for my needs.


Maybe that's why I like Twitter? I tried facebook a couple months back but all the silly quizzes and mob game invites were annoying. The status updates and pictures were somewhat interesting.


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## Kurt N (Feb 11, 2009)

rgrossicone said:


> I signed up last week...not sure yet, pretty boring, but may consider using it for HW assignments next year for my students.


AAhhHGhhght!! No!! H3LL NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OK, maybemaybemaybe that idea isn't as godawful as it sounds. I'm not a classoom teacher these days. But I would think there may be an oddball or two in your class who isn't yet on board the Twitter bandwagon. I have a daughter in college who does Facebook and text messages but to my knowledge is not into Twitter.

I remember when I was a graduate student, the instructors in a multi-disciplinary course (500+ students) announced on the first day of class that syllabi and such were going to be distributed via email. This was when email wasn't yet a bread-and-butter form of communication and not all the students had activated their accounts or even knew how. So of course we TA-s had to scramble to convert it all into paper handouts.


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## StevenRocks (May 24, 2005)

I've been on Twitter for a couple of months. It doesn't make a lot of sense to me yet, but it's a little easier than composing a blog post or sending email. Just type something 'stream of consciousness' and post.


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## SlowE30 (Mar 18, 2008)

I don't have an account and don't plan on getting one. 

I can see it being a useful tool to get updates from your favorite websites/blogs, stores, politicians, news, etc, all in one spot, but I don't care if Allison Murphy from elementary school just ate a ham sandwich or some celebrity blogger got a well-deserved knuckle sandwich. 

If you want or need to know what I'm currently doing or thinking, you probably already know. If you don't, twitter isn't going to make us BFF's. I think it's the illusion of relationships, connection, and significance that bothers me about it.


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## Miket61 (Mar 1, 2008)

SlowE30 said:


> I can see it being a useful tool to get updates from your favorite websites/blogs, stores, politicians, news, etc, all in one spot, but I don't care if Allison Murphy from elementary school just ate a ham sandwich or some celebrity blogger got a well-deserved knuckle sandwich.


I find it funny that network news was not only reporting on Perez Hilton's getting a black eye from a Black Eyed Pea (including the whiny video on his own web site), but that they included Tweets from celebrities regarding the matter with the same level of credibility as if their press agents had released a statement.


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## StoryTroy (Nov 8, 2008)

I enjoy Twitter as a low-maintenance way to keep in touch and up to date with a large social circle. When you work eighty hours a week or more, it's a brilliant little godsend.

Additionally, some cultural icons (including the brilliant multimedia powerhouse Allee Willis) can be downright entertaining in 140 word bursts.


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