Obama and Britney-Bitch (as she says her name is in "Gimme More", apparently) both had their Twitter accounts hacked.
Obama has a twitter account??!!
OK, I'm ready to become a dinosaur now. I'm one of the most "online" people I know, but I set the limit at a few things: phone texting... IMing... twittering...
I don't know, those things just seem to me to cross the line from being enhancing communication to becoming pure, compulsive "communication" without any worthwhile content at all, only a high addiction level.
Similarly those young people who always have a mobile phone glued to their hand, if they're not texting, they're chatting. What can they possibly be saying for 16 hours a day which has any substance? Seriously. I mean even if I include things with little substance I still can't imagine what they're talking about.
Update: I've created a Twitter account (eo_stob) as research, because I might be wrong, I might find some value in it.
It seems from their intro video that the purpose of Twitter is to answer the question friends ask each other on the phone: "what are you doing?"
Well, I don't ask that, unless it's just a gentle start to a conversation if it's been a long time. Why would I ask that? What's the value of finding out that my friend (or celeb) is doing laundry or feeding pigeons? Unless he can add an interesting thought about laundry or pigeons, but good luck writing that in 140 characters.
... It seems that other people can write on somebody's twitter stream? WTH?
TTL chimed in:
I too have pondered about twitter, and my thoughts have followed the exact same path as yours.
I have found one concrete and valuable use for it: some companies use twitter as a support channel and in those cases it is the best (or possibly even the only) way to alert them to something. Also, I've noticed that some high profile (=popular) people can be reached through twitter, if needed.
I've noticed that many people who have been critical about twitter have changed their minds. I think Steve Pavlina is one. But then, he is now also a Facebook user, so I don't think his opinion counts for much here.
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Neeraj contributes:
I think, internet social services like Twitter have some similarity to the good old smalltalk between people ...
Years ago, I didn't like it in any form - I mean, what is the meaning of a conversation, where somebody asks you "How do you do?", and at the same time you can feel he really doesn't want to know it? Or to be connected with you on a deeper level?
Meanwhile I'm softer about this - I see it more like a verbal smile, maybe superficial, but nevertheless a kind of smile, acknowledging each other.
--
I have had a similar development. I think the significance of the words is not the only content of a conversation.
Update:
Here's an article which has some nice perspectives.
Well, after a day of using twitter, I find I'm out of things to say. I have a really boring life on the surface, and the deeper levels defy a 140-character limit.
And I also have not found anything much in other people's twits to stick around for.
There may be a slice between "nothing" and something demanding a blog post which might be worth something, but it doesn't seem to me to be worth signing up for and keeping up with one more Net service.
Magnetic Mary muttered:
"Plus you'd have to be pretty arrogant to think people want to know your every move".
It doesn't have to come from that place; no need to think "what I'm doing is so great everybody has to know it", it's more of a friendly chatter, or micro-blogging. I find it cool to be concise to fit a message in 140 characters, and it's also cool to follow the mental gibberish of certain brilliant, curious, creative, neurotic minds. And if you see yourself reflected, bonus!
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Dale R Herbert cried out:
What did we ever do 20 years ago? Were we alive according to today's standards? There is a thing called "get a life" you know. Electronics are just simply getting out of hand. If you really want to communicate, go out and meet people, I mean come on people, let's get real. Use the computer for what you can not do on your own. With the rest of your life, develop yourself, learn to cook and entertain people, write a book, draw, sing, be an artist, learn to speak publicly. PLEASE, for everyone's sake, USE YOUR BRAIN and BE A CONTRIBUTOR RATHER THAN A COMPUSIVE COMMUNICATOR.
Now that I have that off my chest. We are losing the battle of life if we become so cloistered in our daily existence. We are becoming human peripherals of our own doing. Using electronic methods of communicating reduces our humanity. Will the things we write in Twitter and other such avenues be remembered by anyone? Remember, the days of your life are writing your life's biography. Do something that has meaning with your time and don't waste it, because time is what life is made of.
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TTL said:
"I fail to see why communication on the Internet as such is less valuable than other forms of communication." (Eolake had said.)
Yes, and also, I don't think it has been shown that communication on the Internet automatically takes away from off-line communication. I know many people who without the Internet wouldn't communicate at all. I think, as a whole, Internet has made people more communicative.
Physical proximity is of course the richest form of communication. But it can also be very inefficient. I like to think that there are three levels of communication:
1. Spiritual (sensing each others' energies)
2. Mental (passing ideas on a physical medium)
3. Physical (meeting in physical proximity)
The point is, 2 always includes 1. And 3 always includes 1 and 2. But for many things you don't need 3. It might even be a distraction. And it takes a lot of calories to make it happen. (Not good for your ecological footprint ;-)
Dont you understand? Everything you do is important! Everything! And this is just one more way to reafirm how g-damn center of the whole universe important you are.
ReplyDeleteYou're your own paparazzi!
captcha: sadler
You may be onto something.
ReplyDeleteI too have pondered about twitter, and my thoughts have followed the exact same path as yours.
ReplyDeleteI have found one concrete and valuable use for it: some companies use twitter as a support channel and in those cases it is the best (or possibly even the only) way to alert them to something. Also, I've noticed that some high profile (=popular) people can be reached through twitter, if needed.
Another possible use might be as a tool for self tracking. Of course, in this case it wouldn't be just tracking but publicizing too. Maybe there would be some point to that if you wanted an accountability aspect to it in addition to tracking.
I've noticed that many people who have been critical about twitter have changed their minds. I think Steve Pavlina is one. But then, he is now also a Facebook user, so I don't think his opinion counts for much here.
Anyway, I'm following you now and participating in your research experiment. (What's with the strange username "eo_stob"?)
Leviathud, Sadler is the name of the singer of Saga. I recommend their album Worlds Apart.
Ya know, I've never understood this "what are you doing" stuff. My wife and daughters call people and start the conversation with that question. When I call people I have a question or subject to discuss.
ReplyDeleteIt's kind of like going to the mall and NOT having something that you need to buy. What's the point? I mean, I really don't care what other people are doing at any given point in time.
And then to specifically tell people what you're doing (Twitter) really takes this to an entire new level on not understanding. I think that leviathud is right, "You're your own paparazzi".
Interestingly, this comment is really also a waste of time and effort. Maybe I am a Twitter candidate (Oh God, say it isn't so!)
"this comment is really also a waste of time and effort"
ReplyDeleteNo no, we're dialoguing about stuff that has meaning.
More specifically, about how far we can stretch the "has meaning" part.
eolake said...
ReplyDelete"...No no, we're dialoguing about stuff that has meaning.
More specifically, about how far we can stretch the "has meaning" part."
Yeah...like...Eo picking his teeth! That "has meaning"! It means he REALLY cares about not having gunk hanging out of his teeth and...I can respect that! ;-)
Headin' out! (oh, sorry...forgot. I'm not on Twitter! lmao!)
This might be relevant: Instant Messaging for Introverts. The thesis there is that introverts tend not to like instant messaging: it's not so much a private/public thing as an interrupt thing.
ReplyDeleteBeing a somewhat extreme introvert I really don't like instant messaging. I even resent phone calls if the content is not urgent enough that e-mail wouldn't have done.
I follow a few Twitterers but only via RSS, so when I want to look. I have Skype and am logged on most of the time but would get rid of (politely, I hope) anybody who interrupted me too often. I also use IRC but again only look at the channels when I want to.
Good point, Hangar.
ReplyDeleteI actually blogged it once:
http://eolake.blogspot.com/2008/04/im-for-introverts.html
some people find it effective to make money, ie advertising, which is fine by me but I havent found a use for it yet
ReplyDeleteI think, internet social services like Twitter have some similarity to the good old smalltalk between people ...
ReplyDeleteYears ago, I didn't like it in any form - I mean, what is the meaning of a conversation, where somebody asks you "How do you do?", and at the same time you can feel he really doesn't want to know it? Or to be connected with you on a deeper level?
Meanwhile I'm softer about this - I see it more like a verbal smile, maybe superficial, but nevertheless a kind of smile, acknowledging each other.
And sometimes, talking to somebody (having started as smalltalk) gets really nourishing.
There is the well known saying of Paracelsus "dosis facit venenum" - I still don't like it too much, I like it much more to smile at people I know and love on a deeper level, or to communicate with myself and the universe in so many other nourishing forms ...
And no, I have not yet checked out Twitter, or similar other social networking.
Instead I like sometimes to comment in a blog or a forum about something interesting, when I'm totally free to connect or not to connect. (I'm definitely an introvert.)
But it happens also, that I read somewhere something interesting, then my thoughts about that start working, going around this issue and looking at it from many angles, trying to find a more general and meaningful map to describe some whole complex - and when some answer has grown after a few days, I realize that it is now a little bit late in our fast world to write the answer ...
My step-daughter just said it right, "Plus you'd have to be pretty arrogant to think people want to know your every move".
ReplyDeleteYou gotta love it. Thanks Bec.
"I think the significance of the words is not the only content of a conversation."
ReplyDeleteOf course ... basically I prefer to communicate honestly with authentic people (even if it means to be vulnerable, thats the price), but often I get the feeling, that a conversation is used as a kind of firewall to hide himself behind that, at the same time pretending to be open and honest. And that is sucking my energy - I try to avoid it (its not always possible).
In my experience many people are afraid to be connected with themselves, to feel themselves authentically and to share it. Maybe social networks with anonymous nicks open some field for exercising ...
I like giving/receiving a massage or craniosacral session in a space of trust - a nonverbal communication of bodies who are not able to lie, and any uttering (maybe words, maybe laughing, maybe sighing or crying, or an outburst of anger) shared in such a situation is simply authentic, nourishing both, and beautiful.
Here is Leo's take on twitter.
ReplyDeleteI recently signed for a Twitter account and I don't really know yet what I'm doing with it, but
ReplyDelete"Plus you'd have to be pretty arrogant to think people want to know your every move".
It doesn't have to come from that place; no need to think "what I'm doing is so great everybody has to know it", it's more of a friendly chatter, or micro-blogging. I find it cool to be concise to fit a message in 140 characters, and it's also cool to follow the mental gibberish of certain brilliant, curious, creative, neurotic minds. And if you see yourself reflected, bonus!
Well, after a day of using twitter, I find I'm out of things to say.
ReplyDeleteI note that you occasionally send email just to alert your list to a blog post or similar. Many people use Twitter for that.
... it doesn't seem to me to be worth signing up for and keeping up with one more Net service.
Following, at least, is a nobrainer with Twitterific. I don't know about tweeting.
Plus you'd have to be pretty arrogant to think people want to know your every move.
How is this different from assuming people want to read your blog? If anything, you'd think that expecting people to read longer posts from you is more arrogant.
What did we ever do 20 years ago? Were we alive according to today's standards? There is a thing called "get a life" you know. Electronics are just simply getting out of hand. If you really want to communicate, go out and meet people, I mean come on people, let's get real. Use the computer for what you can not do on your own. With the rest of your life, develop yourself, learn to cook and entertain people, write a book, draw, sing, be an artist, learn to speak publicly. PLEASE, for everyone's sake, USE YOUR BRAIN and BE A CONTRIBUTOR RATHER THAN A COMPUSIVE COMMUNICATOR.
ReplyDeleteNow that I have that off my chest. We are losing the battle of life if we become so cloistered in our daily existence. We are becoming human peripherals of our own doing. Using electronic methods of communicating reduces our humanity. Will the things we write in Twitter and other such avenues be remembered by anyone? Remember, the days of your life are writing your life's biography. Do something that has meaning with your time and don't waste it, because time is what life is made of.
Twitter, blog or irc. Doesn't stop me having random thoughts when I'm out and about then thinking "that's bloggable", and then getting on with my life without sharing. The only way is if I can send thought directly to a blog, and be done with it.
ReplyDeleteI see how some people use Twitter in a beneficial way - a cable TV company here in the States (Comcast) actually monitors Twitter and responds to complaints. Obama's staff no doubt connected with a lot of voters using the service.
ReplyDeleteFor me, it's just too much, because I take a lot of pictures and write for two blogs. Kind of like when you have too many TV shows to follow. But that's just me. Take away some of the other distractions, Twitter may have a place in my life.
At my work people use something called "Yammer," which as far as I can tell is basically the same thing. They yammer about what they're doing, which in a nutshell is their jobs. I find it utterly useless in that setting.
Will the things we write in Twitter and other such avenues be remembered by anyone?
ReplyDeleteIt's unlikely, but then few have cared in the past what ordinary people do. No one cares about the letters regular people used to write back in the day.
If you really want to communicate, go out and meet people, I mean come on people, let's get real.
I agree with you here. I don't even have a cellphone.
With the rest of your life, develop yourself, learn to cook and entertain people, write a book, draw, sing, be an artist, learn to speak publicly.
I kind of hate people and I'm too lazy to cook, but I know what you mean. I like to limit the time I spend on the internet because even writing on here I feel guilty afterwards because it's basically just fucking the dog.
... Okayeeeee....
ReplyDeleteI fail to see why communication on the Internet as such is less valuable than other forms of communication.
I fail to see why communication on the Internet as such is less valuable than other forms of communication.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I don't think it has been shown that communication on the Internet automatically takes away from off-line communication. I know many people who without the Internet wouldn't communicate at all. I think, as a whole, Internet has made people more communicative.
Physical proximity is of course the richest form of communication. But it can also be very inefficient. I like to think that there are three levels of communication:
1. Spiritual (sensing each others' energies)
2. Mental (passing ideas on a physical medium)
3. Physical (meeting in physical proximity)
The point is, 2 always includes 1. And 3 always includes 1 and 2. But for many things you don't need 3. It might even be a distraction. And it takes a lot of calories to make it happen. (Not good for your ecological footprint ;-)
G'day,
ReplyDeleteI haven't tried twitter but did get talked into a Facebook account, whenever I check it I find it full of useless garbage and people are talking a lot without saying anything. Do we really need to know the minute someone has reached their work place or the very moment they're leaving every day? Do we really need to know about the dozens of time wasting weird little games it has? Most of the time I'm on Facebook I'm turning down silly invitations to this weird thing or another - dozens each day? What happened to actually communicating?
I regret all the bad experiences some are writing about here, but some people actually communicate solidly through the net, and some people (certainly not me)actually write a lot more interesting things on Twitter other than when they get to work. Thanks for your concern, I still go out and talk to flesh people, even though sometimes these flesh people also tell me a lot of stupid things like, when they got to work! I marvel that all the flesh people you know are so interesting and profound. It doesn't happen to me on a daily basis but I still give it a try anyway.
ReplyDeleteI just love the idea of 23 blog comments debating the value of Internet communication.
ReplyDeleteHehe.
ReplyDeleteJust goes to show we all have doubts and considerations.