Comments on: Why Twitter Isn’t a Waste of Time

By: Andrew

Andrew — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 13:44:25 +0000

I summarize some interesting uses of twitter in my blog posting:

Better Brain Surgery through Twitter
http://andrewlewis.com/technology/better-brain-surgery-twitter

By: Owen O'Neill

Owen O'Neill — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 17:41:05 +0000

Over the past few weeks I’ve been studying the publicly posted pros, cons and various other opinions on Twitter’s usefulness or lack of same.

I remain convinced that the 140 character limit restricts the propagation of truly useful, productive and thoughtful information – even when the Tweet is from a learned, erudite user who is capable of communicating with great succinctness.

By: Jessica

Jessica — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 04:58:34 +0000

Thank you for this insightful presentation. I can now see the value in meaningful updates, and how this is not a waste of time for people who haven’t learned to be truly present in the moment which was the direction I thought this techonology was going (sorryn for the superfluous generalization); instead, I can see how it can be a meaningful exchange of information, and how you can truly provide quick insight into a network and share expertise/interests which might spark new connections and opportunities.

Cheers!

By: David Taboada

David Taboada — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 01:57:02 +0000

This is the blog post I wish I read when it was published. I have been using twitter since June 2008. I have enjoyed it so far, but more importantly, I am getting good results using it. Making new connections, speeding communication with peers, and organizing events to name a few.

Some people would think it is a waste of time. Believe me, I have actually saved time using it. What I have accomplished would have taken much more if I weren’t using it.

But as with any other tool, you have use it properly. So I have shared three resources and three videos (the last one is “The twitter Song”, quite funny). Click on my name and will get you there.

See you on twitter.

http://twitter.com/katalink

By: john

john — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 18:30:45 +0000

I guess I still don’t get it. I don’t get the difference between this and a blog other than it’s quicker. I don’t do text messaging either and can’t figure out the fascination behind it either. I am a technical person and use and work on computers every day. I want to get it. I just don’t. Thanks for your article.

By: Niamh

Niamh — Sat, 27 Oct 2007 09:35:12 +0000

Well I finally understood twitter and how to use it. Learned about something new through twitter. It is called Utterz.com.
Darren I’m certain you will love Utterz.

By: Stephanie Quilao

Stephanie Quilao — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 22:25:29 +0000

I have 10 pounds left to lose so I started using Twitter to microblog my daily activities which are interesting, but not enough info to do posts on my regular blog. So far, the twittering has helped me stay more disciplined in my food and exercise because it’s hard to slack when you have an audience following you. It’s also a great compliment to my normal blogging.

http://twitter.com/skinnyjeans

By: Venkat

Venkat — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 02:52:42 +0000

Not only is twitter NOT a waste of time, it might pave the way for a medium that’s actually vastly more impactful than blogging in some ways. I didn’t appreciate the social subtleties of twitter until a friend pointed out an interesting concept behind it — twitter creates an ‘ambient connection’ between twitter-ers and followers. Normally you only learn about random facts about people if they are physically near you (within your “50 foot zone” as Tom Allen of MIT named it in his research on collaboration in the 70s).

Twitter allows this fifty-foot noise zone to extend metaphorically to whereever your twitter buddies are. This humanizes your twitter contacts and changes the geography of collaboration.

I wrote about this theory in my blog in The Twitter Zone and Virtual Geography and its prequel article which is linked from the post above.

In short, even if twitter ain’t it, it points the way towards how social media will truly alter our landscape.

By: Melanie

Melanie — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 01:47:13 +0000

I love Twitter. At first I was like, what on earth is this going to do. Only 140 characters and just tell what you are doing, big deal. LOL Well, now I love it and you can learn from others and get your blog/website known. Great networking tool!

By: Online Presence :: Make Money Online

Online Presence :: Make Money Online — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 11:11:15 +0000

I just started Twittering and straight away signed up a few referrals for WidgetBucks! It works! It works! :-)

By: Brian Auer

Brian Auer — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 03:00:12 +0000

I experienced the true power of Twitter this week.

I live in San Diego, fairly close to the Witch fire. I don’t have TV, so I was searching on the Internet for reliable and up to date news on the fires. Yesterday afternoon, I found Nate Ritter posting a tremendous amount of information on the San Diego Fire situation. I was following a couple other news sites too, and I quickly found that Nate had faster updates and more of them on his Twitter profile.

I heard it from him first that my home was part of a mandatory evacuation zone. I then heard the notice a few moments later on one of the other news sites. And I didn’t get a phone call from the police until an hour after that.

Nate has been providing constant comprehensive media coverage of this disaster for the last two days straight, sometimes updating several times per minute. It’s incredible how quickly and efficiently Nate has been providing important news to a lot of people.

THAT’s the true power of Twitter — quick easy to digest bits of news on an important story.

By: Adam Snider

Adam Snider — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 22:14:03 +0000

You don’t want the wisdom of any crowd; you want the wisdom of a carefully-selected crowd.

That may be the most valuable statement I have heard regarding Twitter. It’s definitely something that needs to be pointed out to the people who think that Twitter is nothing but people talking about what they had for lunch.

By: Anne-Marie

Anne-Marie — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 19:01:54 +0000

I’m agreeing with mosteveryone else that Twitter is a waste of time for business/marketing purposes. However, the fires in San Diego are showing that Twitter feeds can be very helpful in times of emergency. Check out Nate Ritter’s Twitter feed – http://twitter.com/nateritter

By: Karen Blanchard, APR

Karen Blanchard, APR — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 18:02:15 +0000

Dwight Si of the Houston Chron is an interesting good Twitterer.

By: 60 in 3 - Fitness and Health

60 in 3 - Fitness and Health — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 15:52:11 +0000

It’s gets to a certain point, where additional communication is not useful. You asked a question about wanting to read more from certain people. The answer is no. I don’t want to spend all my time reading about what other people are doing. I want to spend most of my time doing things myself. Reading is indeed very useful and I do enjoy it both for pleasure and for learning, but listening to someone’s stream of consciousness tweets is stupid. How about they summarize it all into a once a day or once a week blog post and then I can spend a few minutes reading that?

Gal

By: Rachel Keslensky

Rachel Keslensky — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 15:15:20 +0000

I’m hooked on twitter right now. It’s helped me find out about local BarCamps (which in turn helped me promote my webcomic at a panel), I’ve used it within facebook and to update a local sig image on a few forums, and I have a few other fans who follow my stuff on it.

Right now, I’ve got Twitter hooked up through my phone and able to post to it while on the road or any other time getting to a computer is inconvenient. That’s going to be INCREDIBLY useful for conventions, where I could easily be stuck in a panel or at lunch and unable to reach a PC otherwise.

It’s not going to make a $50,000 business into a $100,000 business, but if you’re just starting out and looking to make an impact, it’s as good a kickstart as blogging and everything else.

By: Mike Panic

Mike Panic — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 13:17:21 +0000

I tried to give it a go – even included the twitter cloud in my blogs sidebar – no one really cared and I just couldn’t get into using it.

By: Dan Schawbel

Dan Schawbel — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 12:39:15 +0000

It’s a great update tool and the tracking system also helps. You get the professional and personal feel of the people you follow.

By: Dwight Silverman

Dwight Silverman — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 12:30:14 +0000

Norbert:

Twitter is very much sending an IM to a Web page. What you “tweet” is saved on that page. You can also choose to have the messages sent by others to your page. If you pick/choose those friends you follow wisely, you build a page of messages from people of like interest, and create something of value on the Web. My Twitter page is at http://www.twitter.com/dsilverman … Click the “With Friends” tab to see the updates from those I follow as well as my own.

Niamh:

To get started, sign up at http://www.twitter.com. Invite your friends to join (it will let you scan your Gmail address book to see if anyone’s already on the service, or will allow you to select them to receive an invitation.) Next, go out and find people who interest you. Click on the image matrix on the right side of other folks’ pages and then click the Follow button on the ones who interest you. They’ll get a notice that you’re following, and they may follow you, too.

You have to work at Twitter at first to make it worthwhile. If you follow everyone who follows you, you’ll end up with essentially a Web-based chat room with a lot of noise. Some people like that (see http://www.twitter.com/scobleizer), but I personally prefer to be more selective. I think that adds more value.

Hope that helps.

Dwight

By: Norbert Sczepanski

Norbert Sczepanski — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 11:52:28 +0000

hi,
frankly:
i have unfortunately not really understood what twitter IS.
can anyoune give me a short explanation on that?

TIA

Norbert Sczepanski