Look into my tweets.
Twitter. Such an interesting little piece of social software. Wildly popular and debated, folks are using it for all sorts of reasons that have been explained, analyzed reviewed and posted all over the web. I am not a technical mastermind, and you won't ever see me pretend to be, nor try to create any illusions about it. This will not be a "look at me I'm all technical and shit"...post. I'll spare you.
What I do find fascinating about twitter is the way in which people use it. Moreover, the way twitter usage and the usage of other social software tools and technologies can give you even greater insight into what makes people tick. Well duh, you might say. Isn't that what's it's supposed to do? Give us new, faster, broader ways to connect with each other?
I love when people lambast others for how they use twitter. Like there is a right and wrong way to decide what you wish to say out loud. Like any of us really are the Gods of Tweet. I can point the finger at myself for all the times I've rolled my eyes to the heavens and uttered the words, "why does _____ think anyone really gives a SHIT about that?" And then I laugh...because I know someone out there in the wide world that is even marginally curious to know what makes me tick, might be thinking the same thing of me.
What's too much, what's too little. What is "tweet-worthy" what is just a blatant misuse of expressive space. All argued, all debated. All valuable discourse. All relative to what's going on with the user.
Twitter for me is another exercise in social psychology. I love watching the tweets roll in on my friends and family and the folks I am getting to know over time. I don't accept requests from strangers and my tweets are not public, because I like to know who's listening to me blabber. Especially there, where I am apt to say things that won't mean a thing to you unless you know me in some way. I'm not reviewing any new great and powerful tools (nor do I think myself a subject matter expert on anything but lil old me). I'm not giving up to the minute news flashes on anything life altering. Most times, I'm just blurting the random thoughts that pop into my head. And most times, so are others. And that's...what makes it so alluring.
People I know to be knowledge thirsty, politically charged and satirical...tend to be in their tweets. People who are reflective, passionate or reserved...tend to be in their tweets. But on a deeper level, you get to see layers (especially late night or early morning) that people may not normally give. One person shows you a sense of humor you may have missed otherwise. Another person shares with you a skill you might not have ever known they possessed. You find others are even more self involved than you originally suspected. You find people you wished would tweet a lot more...and those you wish would tweet a lot less.
If you're currently using twitter...think of five people you "follow." Think about what you've learned about them since. Think about how your perspectives on them have changed. For the better. For the worse.
And that, is the value of social software that to me, remains priceless.
In fact, I'd love to create a twitter probationary period. For any new friends or people entering your life, I think it would be great to be able to "follow" them for awhile. See what they choose to talk about. See what they find relevant to share with you in 140 characters or less. See what goes on in their world. Where they go. What they think about on their travels. Now wouldn't that give you something to think about...
If you followed me, you might think I was a terribly snarky, highly opinionated sap who spends way too much time lost on her own sauce.
And you'd be right.
PS...on an extremely humorous note, I was chatting with my name/family twin that the term "tweet" was North Florida slang for the infamous "wedgie" back in the day. So...I basically asked you all to take a good look into my wedgie. Not sure I can ever say, "tweetin'" again without chuckling.
Comments
I'm fascinated by it and how people use it. I'm also struck by the comparisons with Facebook's Patty is...status updates. It strikes me that community sites should all have a privacy controlled Twitter feature. On Vox I could see it as a micro-post side bar, same as my Twitter embedded sidebar now, except that I could set the privacy controls to the same levels as my Vox privacy levels for each update and the updates would be made only to Vox. Wouldn't that be cool?
I'm still public with all my Twitter updates, for some reason that doesn't seem like an issue for me. But then again, I like to flirt with the public private distinctions, to test my willingness for exposure and question the reasons behind a desire for more privacy. All this social media is fascinating, isn't it?
Yet...with Twitter? I just don't accept people that I don't have some knowledge of. As if I say anything on there that's any less revealing then what I put in this space. I'm still trying to understand that inconsistency.
my twits are private. i have to draw the line at giving people i don't know access to my random thoughts and whereabouts.
and, i try not to have tweets.
I guess with Twitter I think, how much can I possibly reveal in 140 characters that would threaten my privacy or be of interest to stalkers or serial killers? For me, (at least this week), the snippet of self that gets revealed on Twitter sort of feels like a random thought or impression that gets sent out into the universe, it's there for those who pick it up or care to notice and it disappears like a soap bubble in an instant. Oh, except of course that there's a record of those blown bubbles that lives on the web for all to see...hmmmm. okay, now maybe I'm thinking I should change my Twitter to Friends only. Naaaawww... not today.
;-)
I find that I use Twitter for the one-line, goofy stuff I used to put on my blog. Stuff that doesn't really merit a full paragraph-style post. I like that I can now include those random, quick thoughts from Twitter on the same page as the longer posts on Vox. I also like that I can update it really easily from work via a third-party app (shhh!), and I find I get a lot of work frustration out of my system with cryptic twits and tweets. .
One question I do have however: what is the difference between a twit and a tweet? :)