[Ask LJ] Twitter & social proprioception

[mirrorshard]

After reading this, I'm getting tempted to start using Twitter myself.

Since I am a very cautious adopter, however (except when I pick something up early on, complain about it, and abandon it for something else) I am not going to do so just from that. I know a lot of you use it; what does it do that's unique and useful? And is there likely to be any benefit to anyone else from my being on it?

With most social networking tools, I tend to be about 95% listener and 5% talker. So the ambient-verbal-grooming thing Ellis describes is possibly not ideal for me. On the other hand, I have four blogs, a facebook, a del.icio.us page, my own Coppermine gallery, and a wiki, and I've wandered through more virtual worlds than most people have supermarkets, so I can hardly claim the Luddite high ground.

Comments

[harald387.livejournal.com]

Twitter "microblogging" does nothing for me that isn't already covered by Livejournal. The only difference is that more of the people I know update Twitter more often. It's not special and useful for what it is, just for who is there.

[watervole.livejournal.com]

No benefit to me. LJ suits my RSI world better than TWitter. (I find it much easier to type on a computer keyboard.)

[webcowgirl.livejournal.com]

Twitter is actually doing a good job of creating the ambient awareness (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/07/magazine/07awareness-t.html) that I crave - similar to but in addition to what the Failwhale article describes. And, these days, Twitter is meeting those needs somewhat better than LJ does.

[strangelover.livejournal.com]

As has already been stated above, many of my friends update their Twitter more often than LiveJournal or Facebook (or anywhere else), and I've used it as a handy/cheap substitute for texting with with my best friend, who lives in Canada.

I've also found it great for getting local information quickly. For example, when the Greek riots were going on in December, there was a lot of 'tweets' from people caught up in it, describing what was going on, that the news failed to report.

[elettaria.livejournal.com]

Judging from friends who report their tweets to me and the ones they read, plus another friend who used to put all her tweets onto her LJ, most twittering is banal beyond belief. (Yes, these were intelligent, creative friends who are good conversationalists.) I expect there are good corners of it, though, and the free alternative to texting sounds potentially handy.

[ashfae.livejournal.com]

It annoyed me. *shrug*

[lizw.livejournal.com]

I use it pretty much exactly as that article describes. As an introvert with chronic health issues and a ridiculously busy schedule, it allows me to feel involved with my friends in a way I just can't manage offline.

[spencerpine.livejournal.com]

It's immediate, in a stream-of-consciousness way. When you post to LJ, you think about what you're posting. Twitter is where you post "The bridge was down, but someone had put planks across the river, so I walked over them". Or "I've got sunstroke, haven't I? That's what this headache is".

I love Twitter for that, because most of it's so inconsequential. But it's not for everyone.

Graham