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Twitter, explain it to me

johnny karate said:
I don't think that anyone is actually upset as opposed to expressing an opinion. Personally, I checked out of the whole social networking scene after giving Facebook a whirl and being inundated with status updates tantamount to "I am doing something completely uninteresting right now. Please pay attention to me" by random people with whom I went to high school.

I don't care if the girl I sat behind in World History is at this moment buying a new pair of sandals for her trip to Cancun, and I think people who think other people would care about such mundane details of their lives are a tad self-involved. But welcome to the new social culture, where there are no boundaries, and being made to feel special no longer requires actually being special.
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It isn't meant to be "special". You are taking Twitter far more seriously than the people on Twitter do. It is water-cooler talk. Only now the water cooler is 25,000 miles in circumference.

If you pick apart anything it will seem stupid. I don't get why people watch crotch-grabbing men run in a circle and knock around a leather covered cork but hey, to each their own.
 
KingMerv00 said:
If you pick apart anything it will seem stupid. I don't get why people watch crotch-grabbing men run in a circle and knock around a leather covered cork but hey, to each their own.
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Well, now that would be stupid. But it's a diamond, so it makes perfect sense.
 
Oliver said:
Well, isn't there a point in getting a life as an alternative to Twitter as well? :confused:
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I'm not sure what you mean.

Knowledge, information and shared experience is precisely what I enjoy in life - learning new things, engaging with other human beings, seeing what the world's up to. Tiwtter facilitates that, a little.

I love trivia, minutiae, ephemera. I love talking to other people about what they find interesting, what films they've seen recently, what's upset them, or intrigued them, or filled their bellies with joy. I love overhearing snippets of conversations between strangers about things that I'm interested in too - those people often aren't strangers for much longer! I love learning about new bands, new designers, new authors. I love jokes. I love politics, and current affairs. I love gossip, sometimes - especially if it's about academics, scientists or porn stars. I love facts. I love little snippets of information that make me smile, or frown, or think about the world in a different way. I love being cheered up when I'm down. I love being angered when I'm complacent. I love the fact that there are 6 billion people on this planet, all of whom are endlessly fascinating if you just ask them the right questions and are willing to be open minded about the fact that other people's interests differ from your own. I love the fact that other people's interests differ from my own - and I love the fact that once I know about other people's interests, sometimes they stop being so different from my own.

I love sharing. I love showing people the interesting things I've stumbled upon on my daily meanderings through my life - music, books, exhibitions, tv shows, products, websites. I love communicating the things that astonish me, annoy me, amuse me. I love showing people this cool little image, or that caustic little article. I love showing people how stupid I think that guy is, or how smart that gal is. I love the fact that sometimes, people say "Thanks! That's made my day!".

That's what Twitter's about, for me. I'm an academic. My whole career, really, is based around finding stuff out about things I think are awesome, and then telling other people about that stuff. I love that attitude - "Hey, look at this. You might think this is interesting".

You might as well say "isn't there a point in getting a life as an alternative to the JREF forums?". This is a life. Who are you to say it isn't?
 
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KingMerv00 said:
He means that people should get a life that is popular with others. Your enjoyment is not relevant to the conversation.
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Indeed.

Honestly, what's so terrible about people you choose to follow telling you things they hope you'll find interesting? No-one is forcing anyone to follow "the girl I sat behind in World History". If you don't care for her opinions, don't follow her! Follow the bloggers, writers, journalists, media outlets, scientists, academics, artists and photographers who tweet things you are interested in. Follow the friends of yours who you talk with over a pint - it's likely they'll link you to some content you'll enjoy, or mention something you'll find interesting.

Y'all do talk to people, right? And listen? And you do find that enjoyable, even if the people you're talking to are talking about their delicious lunch, or that annoying woman they work with, or their fancy new sneakers? Follow those people. I don't actually understand why you wouldn't, let alone why you'd find the very idea objectionable.
 
Actually, the same goes for Facebok. If you don't want to see updates from "boring people ytou went to highschool - DON'T ACCEPT THEIR FRIEND REQUESTS. You're acting like you're in a noisy room with no control over who you're listening to! What Twitter (and to a lesser extent Facebook) is is a highly-customisable, personalised feed of information from people you want to listen to, because you like what they have to say.
 
WildCat said:
I'm eating a sandwich now.
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[UNFOLLOW]

What you should be tweeting is what you're reading online right now. That would be interesting. Or the recipe you're using to cook your dinner. Or the YouTube video for your favourite new song. Or a review of a great (or terrible) book you read recently. Stuff you actually think people want to know.
 
Twitter is a method of communication. As such, it ranges from the insipid to the sublime, just like any other method of communication, from novels to penis tattoos.
 
volatile said:
[UNFOLLOW]

What you should be tweeting is what you're reading online right now. That would be interesting. Or the recipe you're using to cook your dinner. Or the YouTube video for your favourite new song. Or a review of a great (or terrible) book you read recently. Stuff you actually think people want to know.
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It's a really awesome sandwich. :p
 
KingMerv00 said:
It isn't meant to be "special". You are taking Twitter far more seriously than the people on Twitter do. It is water-cooler talk. Only now the water cooler is 25,000 miles in circumference.
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Perhaps, but I don't typically find water-cooler chatter all that interesting either. Whether or not it's viewed as frivolous by it's users, Twitter still has en element of "Pay attention to me!" that I find off-putting. Your mileage may vary.

KingMerv00 said:
If you pick apart anything it will seem stupid. I don't get why people watch crotch-grabbing men run in a circle and knock around a leather covered cork but hey, to each their own.
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I wouldn't disagree that when sufficiently reduced tweeting and watching baseball are both silly activities. But for me, the key difference is that the latter doesn't involve me charging out onto the field with the presumption the whole world is interested in watching me play.
 
plumjam said:
From what I've seen of it it's the perfect vehicle for superficial look-at-me egomaniacs and their bored-at-work hangers-on.
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Contempt for people who use a different communication medium; now that's the sign of humility and modesty!
 
johnny karate said:
Perhaps, but I don't typically find water-cooler chatter all that interesting either.
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And yet I don't see people starting threads about how water-coolers are used by egomainiacs.

Whether or not it's viewed as frivolous by it's users, Twitter still has en element of "Pay attention to me!" that I find off-putting. Your mileage may vary.
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I understand that you don't find Twitter interesting. That's fine. What I don't understand is your ability to read the motivations of hundreds of thousands of people.

Besides, there is nothing inherently wrong about wanting to be the center of attention. That's how theater got started.

I wouldn't disagree that when sufficiently reduced tweeting and watching baseball are both silly activities. But for me, the key difference is that the latter doesn't involve me charging out onto the field with the presumption the whole world is interested in watching me play.
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You pay to watch professionals play a sport. You have every right to hate the goober who runs on the field and interupts. Twitter is free and entirely optional.

You are looking for objective insight into people's subjective enjoyment. Stop now. That way leads only to madness. They like it because it stimulates a portion of their brain in the right way. No one gets hurt. I fail to see how such a thing needs explanation.
 
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johnny karate said:
Twitter still has en element of "Pay attention to me!" that I find off-putting.
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Do you find your friends discussing things they think you'll find interesting with you ego-manaical? I just wonder why you think the method of communication inherently turns information-sharing into egotism. I have no illusions that a majority of people care what I have to say, but I'm perfectly willing to post a "Hey, this is interesting" link in earshot of those who have made the active decision to listen.

On my twitter feed, I post things I find other people might find interesting. Some do. Those that don't don't follow me. In turn, I follow people who post things I find interesting.

I just don't see why that's any more ego-manaical than blogging, posting a mailing list or even posting on this forum. In fact, I'd argue it's less ego-manaical than posting here. What's the difference? What makes posting lengthy posts on this forums to which you expect replies less "pay attention" than me posting short links to news articles which I hope people who have actively chosen to follow me will find as interesting as I did?
 
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volatile said:
Knowledge, information and shared experience is precisely what I enjoy in life - learning new things, engaging with other human beings, seeing what the world's up to. Tiwtter facilitates that, a little.

...

That's what Twitter's about, for me. I'm an academic. My whole career, really, is based around finding stuff out about things I think are awesome, and then telling other people about that stuff. I love that attitude - "Hey, look at this. You might think this is interesting".

You might as well say "isn't there a point in getting a life as an alternative to the JREF forums?". This is a life. Who are you to say it isn't?
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You make a very good point. However, people relate to the world, sate their curiousity about it, and process the information they glean from it in different ways. I prefer more passive methods in obtaining information. I'm sure the Twitter feeds you follow are very interesting, but I honestly have a hard time believing they offer any insight or knowledge not available in other venues. I could be wrong, but again, I think it just comes down to personal preference.

volatile said:
Honestly, what's so terrible about people you choose to follow telling you things they hope you'll find interesting? No-one is forcing anyone to follow "the girl I sat behind in World History". If you don't care for her opinions, don't follow her!
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Agreed. Which is why I deleted my Facebook account and have no interest in Twitter. And believe me, there is no particular passion in my opinion of Twitter, or any other social networking site. It's not for me, and in the spirit of discussion, I am merely offering my two cents.

Which kind of brings it back to a point you made earlier. I deride Twitter, but am very active on this forum. Again, different strokes.

volatile said:
Follow the bloggers, writers, journalists, media outlets, scientists, academics, artists and photographers who tweet things you are interested in. Follow the friends of yours who you talk with over a pint - it's likely they'll link you to some content you'll enjoy, or mention something you'll find interesting.
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I maintain that in this sense, Twitter is somewhat redundant. I never find myself lacking in resources for my interests through more traditional methods, and I find the signal-to-noise ratio much more to my liking with those methods. And as far as "following friends" I've never understood the appeal of social netorking sites as a means of keeping in touch. I carry around a device in my pocket that allows me three different methods on instananeous communication. I don't see the need for another. If a friend of mine with whom I like to chat over a pint has something interesting to tell me, I prefer to be told face-to-face over a pint.
 
KingMerv00 said:
You are looking for objective insight into people's subjective enjoyment. Stop now. That way leads only to madness. They like it because it stimulates a portion of their brain in the right way. No one gets hurt. I fail to see how such a thing needs explanation.
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I'm quite content with the fact that other people use Twitter. Their use of Twitter is exactly as harmless as my opinion of it. And they have no more need to justify themselves anymore than I do.
 
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