I joined Twitter a year ago today. While I’ve enjoyed many an interesting discussion on Twitter, I’d define my opinion of it as love-hate. I enjoy the opportunity to have a live discussion with like-minded individuals whenever I go online. Twitter is far more interactive than engaging in a conversation on a blog comment thread or a message board. The 140-character limit forces people to be concise and cut straight to the point, which holds a definite appeal to me, Queen of the Fifteen-Minute Meeting.
On the flip side, Twitter is a bastion of misinformation, half-truths and overreaction. Celebrities are constantly being killed off on Twitter, than miraculously brought back to life. The speed with which half-baked rumours circulate is frightening. It reminds me of a game of Chinese Whispers except that this is dealing with real life people and events. Things can quickly get blown out of proportion, as was the case when Amazon deranked books with homosexual and/or erotic content. Before anyone had the full story, there were calls to Google bomb Amazon. While I didn’t participate in the Google bombing because I thought it was a stupid idea, I did blog about the incident, probably before I was in possession of all the facts. It was a lesson learned, and I’ve tried to be careful ever since to hold off voicing my opinion until I feel I have sufficient knowledge to back it up.
Here are a few things I like about Twitter, followed by a few I don’t.
Things I Like about Twitter:
- The chance to have a spontaneous conversation with people who read the same books I do.
- Some of the people I follow tweet some interesting links.
- The opportunity to ask a question, however random, and get an answer quickly.
- Blog fodder: I’m often inspired to write a blog post after engaging in a conversation on Twitter.
Things I Don’t Like about Twitter:
- People who tweet the same link to their blog fifteen times per day. I have no problem with someone retweeting a link to their latest blog post for the benefit of those who live in different time zones, but it gets annoying if they retweet it more than a couple of times.
- The speed with which misinformation is spread.
- The false sense of intimacy. When you have a conversation with a few others, it’s so easy to forget that it can be seen by everyone who follows you and more besides.
- Contests which require I follow you and jump through hoops to win a prize. Frankly, I’d rather buy the book than go to all that hassle.
- Authors/bloggers/others who only use their Twitter accounts for promo purposes but don’t actually interact with their followers.
- Spam.
What’s your opinion on Twitter? Do you have an account? What do you see as the advantages and disadvantages of this form of social networking?
{ 21 comments }
I just recently began doing the second entry option for contests via a Twitter shout out of said contest. And I genuinely do that to help spread the word about the contest, as opposed to drawing new people to the blog – which is a side benefit only, should they choose to stick around. I just guess I find it nice if I’ve got more than 5 or 6 or 10 people or entries vying for a book. Beyond that, if it’s meant to be, they will come and see what’s going on.
I so agree on the misinformation and startling tendency for things to be blown out of proportion. It just makes me want to log off and go read.
It can get annoying when the same links are tweeted over and over by the blogger of origin, but I’ve kind of learned to just look past those. The 140 character limit is good for skimming.
I really like Twitter for reasons you’ve stated, mainly the being able to interact in real time with some great people. Some days are better than others for weathering the drama that can come with the place.
I love Twitter for the reasons you stated. I love interacting with like-minded readers and I love the conversations. You get the real me on there (well partially). I like to kid around a lot and know who I can pick on there *cough* Maili but yeah, sometimes it can be a pain in the ass to see the promo stuff constantly being RT but I’ve learned to bypass/ignore it. I don’t promote myself on Twitter as that’s not why I set up the account but I have nothing against other people who do it. Now that you have that exclusive, the downside of Twitter is EXACTLY what you stated, the frightening speed of how misinformation gets spread. Very scary. I don’t believe everything I read on Twitter. I check out everything for myself. Also, in case another storm breaks out, I’ve learned to just exit Twitter when that happens and not engage at all. You just have to be smart when using social media, that’s all. Oh yeah, the contest of having more followers to win prizes, I ignore those too.
I love Twitter when people are funny. (I’m never funny, except when I’m ghost-tweeting as my husband, who can’t be bothered with Twitter. “He’s” a funny guy, it turns out. Me? Not so much.)
I love Twitter when it allows me to get to know people I would otherwise never meet. There are lots of wonderful people on Twitter in different timezones and with different perspectives of a whole range of topics. I don’t have to agree with them to love the conversations.
I love Twitter as a source of interesting links. I read the tweets I’ve missed overnight, for example, and click all the links that look fun. After I’m caught up with Twitter, I then go see what my “haul” is of linked-items. Sometimes, I’ll get to a tab and have no recollection who linked me to it or why! Fun.
But…
I don’t love Twitter when all it amounts to (for some people) is a place to send robo-links to various blog posts. I do think if you’re going to use Twitter, do so with your fingers and not an inbedded code. (Not that one-off robo-links to blog posts are bad; see above. But if that’s all we see of someone, then they aren’t “on” Twitter, their robot is.)
I don’t love it when Twitter makes perfectly rational individuals “go polar” and argue immediately to the extremes. It is possible to have a nuanced discussion in 140-character bursts. It is also possible to piss people off in 140-character bursts. There is a choice.
I don’t love “private” communications on Twitter. Oh, I don’t mind if two people are having a conversation that doesn’t include me; they know they risk having me (or anyone) butt in or just ignore them. But when the original tweeters freeze out other participants through condescension, deliberate misunderstandings, and plain rudeness — that’s silly. Have a DM discussion; email each other; phone each other — then the risk that I might intrude goes away.
I also don’t love “blind items” on Twitter: tweets that refer to someone without naming that person (let alone putting the @ sign before their Twitter handle so that person can respond). But by now I’m complaining about rudeness and juvenile behavior that just happens to be on Twitter — and that’s not Twitter’s fault.
So . . .
What’s the thing I love best about Twitter? I can follow someone, or unfollow them. If I’m still complaining about someone’s behavior when I could just have unfollowed them? That’s *my* bad.
I always feel like I’m “doing it wrong” on Twitter. I often tweet and run. I don’t know if I should reply to all of my replies. And once I tried to follow someone who was blocking me. Not a private account, but blocking me, personally. Maybe they block everyone? I don’t get it.
@KMont: “The 140 character limit is good for skimming.” That is very true. It makes it relatively easy to ignore a conversation I don’t want to follow.
@Keishon: “I don’t believe everything I read on Twitter. I check out everything for myself.”
Yep. I’m very wary of following trending topics, for example, particularly those concerning world news. The tweets last night about the tsunami ranged in tone from: “Hawaii is under water!” to: “Eff this nonsense, I’m going surfing.”
@Magdalen: I also dislike public complaints about someone without naming them.
@Jill Sorenson: I follow you on Twitter and I’ve never thought you were “doing it wrong”! I don’t think there’s a “right” way to tweet in any case, although there are certain things which I personally don’t care for.
I haven’t experienced what you described about being blocked, or at least I haven’t noticed it, but I have been unfollowed.
I am bound and determined to stick to following 100 people … any more and Twitter will become unmanageable for me … so I do follow/unfollow/follow again. People who make it easy for me to know we’re not meant to go into the Twitter sunset together ~ those who do /pimp too many contests/get this friend to whatever level … and of course there are always exceptions. @suegrimshaw (the gal behind the Romance shelves at Borders and Book Chat) has to tweet and retweet her blogs but she puts a lot of herself in AND she promotes with the enthusiasm of a true believer!
Living on the West coast, I always wake up to 150 un-read tweets so I go through, favourite the ones that look interesting and then try to plung in. I especially like links to interesting blogs/stories/trends … and I have learned whose links really pay off for me. I don’t like Buzz (in general/in particular) very much and probably discount it too heavily. Often links cause me to re-evaluate the “buzz” du jour and that’s a good thing.
There are a million reasons why I like twitter — here’s another: great place to get advice. When I finally buy a new Brown Betty (a teapot, not a brown-haired Neel’s hero), I have two saved tweets with suggestions for great tea websites.
Another great topic Sarah: thank you!!
Twitter owns my soul. Evil place.
But though Twitter, I was able to communicate with you and share great conversations together
I love Twitter cuz I can post random thoughts to my heart’s content. Also, it’s a good way of testing out my debating skills in 140 characters or less. *g*
For me the only negatives involve the spambots. The rest I can ignore.
I joined Twitter simply because I wanted to “micro-blog.” Sometimes I have a random thought, opinion whatever – but I can’t (or I don’t think there is a need) stretch it out into a blog post. Twitter is good for that sort of thing.
I’m a bit of a hit and run Tweeter. I don’t Tweet via my cell phone, and typically have it up and running on my computer. Also, believe it or not, I’ve found it beneficial for my job. Lots of publishers, agents, editors, review journals etc. on Twitter. Also, I get some “library news” that way as well. But I’ve never been one to spend ALL day on it, and while I have conversations, I’ve never been part of a huge, lengthy debate.
I don’t like it much though I used it a lot lately.
I don’t like it because it’s impersonal, it’s just a status update whereas facebook has more too it. And it’s all very out in the open and it’s a bit boring.
I’m a timid tweeter, though I am not at all a timid person. The 140 characters are not enough for me to convey a complete thought. And I instinctively block everyone who isn’t known to me or retweeted by someone on my list. I guess I have a thing about cold callers and personal privacy – whether on the phone, at my front door or on Twitter, I don’t want strangers getting in my face. Therefore, I am probably not a real Twitter tweeter at all!!
@Janet W: I started out with the intention of not following more than 100 people but it’s slowly crept up. However, I’d say only about 50 of those I follow are regular tweeters. The others are either irregular tweeters or online when I’m asleep.
@katiebabs: Yeah, I’d say I got to know you and other bloggers/blog visitors more through Twitter than the blogs themselves.
@Karen Scott: The spambots suck. I particularly enjoy your reality show tweets. Far more entertaining than watching them on TV!
@Wendy: I check Twitter the odd time during the day, usually while I’m doing something else. I find it useful for tips on how to approach agents/editors and so on, as well as a great source of book recommendations.
@Louise: I think it depends on how you use it. I often tweet back and forth with some of the people I follow, but my husband pretty much confines his Twitter use to status updates and rarely engages with his fellow tweeters. There’s nothing wrong with either approach but they are very different.
@Trish: Given how extrovert you are in real life, that surprises me. I’m not shy but I’m usually a lot quieter than you are in social situations, particularly if I don’t know the people well.
I love twitter! Without twitter, I never would have discovered other book bloggers–like you. I love how open it is, and that it doesn’t require a big commitment. In other words, I can spend a few days off twitter and then come back and tweet all day, and then take another day off. And I feel no pressure whatsoever to read every tweet that comes my way.
As for the quickness with which information spreads, I like that too. I like that as soon as there’s an earthquake, all the people in California tweet about it. Yes, there’s always the chance of encountering half-truths and misinformation, but there’s the chance for that with ANY form of communication.
The only downside to twitter as far as a I’m concerned is the spam. That is super-annoying. I just ignore it, though.
I love Twitter for the people I have met and because it allows me a forum for my throwaway thoughts. Every time I see/do/think of something fun, I’m composing it in 140 chars for a future tweet (that I invariably forget).
The downside of it is that it’s an almost constantly updating place, like shoveling snow while its snowing. I can never be “finished” with it, unlike the posts in my Google Reader. That’s what makes it a fatiguing, anxiety-inducing spot for me.
Hi I am Edie, and I am a twitterholic.
I find twitter endlessly entertaining. Arguing, discussing books, whining, and eavesdropping. It has put me in contact with more Australian romance readers, which I love.
And the random discussions we can get into on there amazes me, from the lack of condoms in romance novels to looking at the Australian identity, how it is formed and viewed internally and externally…
Hell I even find the spammers and some of the spambots entertaining. – The random retweeters have often made me burst into hysterics.
The only problem I have is I follow a couple of lovely women, whose life mission it seems is to retweet every blog post or competition out there. So I see the same tweet about four times in a couple of minutes. LOL But when they are not retweeting they are endlessly entertaining, so I guess it balances out.
Right now, twitter is the place where I show my age. I haven’t tried it, I’m not interested in it. There’s a reasonable chance that I’d become addicted to it, but it’s over the line of how much real-time interaction I want with my internet friends. I’m a ho for discussion forums as it is. I think twitter would be too random and ADD-making for me.
I resisted joining Twitter for the longest time because I was concerned about the potential time suck. These days, if I am home, I am on Twitter and for the most part I really enjoy it.
The spam is annoying, and for the people who only post their blog links I ask why bother, but other than that it has been a surprisingly positive experience for me. I have been exposed to yet more bloggers and gotten to know some other people much better, so I am happy that I eventually caved.
The speed at which untrue rumors can spread on Twitter is scary, but I still like the site by and large. It’s let me meet all kinds of book people, and I enjoy being able to chat about things or throw out random thoughts without writing a more formal piece about it.
I have a twitter account, and I do enjoy it a lot. Mostly, I like the chatting aspect, particularly about books and/or writing. I also get good links to blog discussions, and like to pass on interesting links when I have them.
I manage it by not following a whole lot of people. I decided I wouldn’t feel obligated to follow everyone I knew or even all of my friends, just those with whom I tended to have twitter conversations, or who regularly posted links which I followed. I also change up the people I follow every now and again, if someone isn’t posting or just to give someone different a try. If I tried to follow everyone, I would only be able to pay shallow attention to all of them.
I like the @ replies thing a lot – that’s usually how I “meet” new people, and I tend to follow them if we’ve had some interesting conversations.
As folks above noted, I don’t really like the constant contest tweeting, but will occasionally retweet those if it’s someone I know well. I do admit I post links to new blog posts, usually twice a day, morning and afternoon, since I know some people miss the morning link. And I announce it if I have new publishing news, like a new sale or something.
I love twitter. I love all that it can offer: discussion, friendship, sense of community. I think all those things are really positive and that’s why I enjoy the medium. But with all things that grow the way twitter has, there will always be a negative side.
I agree that certain things can get out of control, I’ve seen this happen and it can be damaging to all party’s involved, but hey, that’s part of being involved with instant media.
Personally, I don’t mind if someone uses it for promoting their blog, I do. I’m not ashamed of that either because I set my blog up to share everything about books and reading, basically everything book related. To promote the books I review (whether I liked them or not it’s still getting the book seen) is part of my what I like to do as a book blogger. I enjoy it. I am probably one of those tweeters you hate so much. I tweet a blog post about four times a day for the different time zones.
One of the policies I have about Twitter though is I only follow authors or book bloggers so all the tweets I see, I want to see. It doesn’t bother me that they RT, if I’ve already seen it I just ignore it. I have total control, nothing is shoved down my throat, I either go on twitter or I don’t. If you don’t like the person who RT’s too much and is irritating you then stop following them. It’s as easy as that.
I run contests on Twitter and my blog and I never ask for anything, especially a follow – what’s the point? I’d rather someone follow my blog or my tweets because they want to, not because I’ve forced them to with a competition. It just doesn’t make sense to me.
I have ‘met’ some really fantastic people because of Twitter and I admit to being a twitterholic!! The one thing I do hate about Twitter is the amount of time I spend on it
Great discussion Sarah! Sorry I’ve rambled on for so long LOL
I lurve twitter I spit at Faceboook pew pew just kidding. Since my grandparents are FB friends I like the ananimity of twitter and all the random conversations I have with everyone vs Facebook I have a self profile I can use a avi – I don’t like that aspect. I definitely use it to promote my blog but I’m not an over RT (of my own tweets) can’t stand when I see someone tweet their own posts and that’s it. Feels a little too marketie to me.