follow me on twitter
ok. i've decided on a different approach to this topic. i am not going to attack it, because, for one, i don't understand it.
there are countless things/vices in this world that i don't have a personal experience with and yet still may frown upon. i've never done serious drugs. don't understand the addiction. don't condone the use, but i am not going to bash it here because i don't have the first-hand wherewithall to draw from and give me a more than subjective feel for it. same with cigarettes. people smoke. are addicted to it. i don't understand it. never been there or done that. so, i am not going to rail on them or you here. what's the point? i would just come across as ignorant. the whole twitter phenomenon can be filed under this personal category for me. it may seem like these are somewhat drastic or dramatic comparisons to draw in relation to "tweeting", but they all conjure up about the same ire within in me currently, so throw stones if you'd like. pretty good chance i'd just catch them anyway. you do throw like a girl. moving on.
on the other hand, there are things that i feel compelled to whine about here like church or sports because i feel like i have a pretty good handle on how they should be done well. i, alone, may not be able to create with any consistency the perfect worship service, but i know what one feels like, can see it if it's in front of me and i know what kind of work it takes to make it happen. same with sports. i suck at them for the most part now, but i am aware of the dedication, physically and mentally, that it takes to perform at a relatively high level and i feel like i am not being a total jerkface when i am commenting about them.
which brings me to my point. and maybe to a discussion that will serve the greater good. that point being i don't get twitter.
in an appearance on the daily show about a month ago, nbc news anchor brian williams said this about "tweets", challenging them for only "having subject matter which refers to the condition of the author in any given instant." (thanks, wikipedia) he went on to say that he didn't feel like his life was interesting enough, in any given moment, to publish in twitter format.
i think i have similar issues. i get the idea of them as a social networking tool. those that choose to "follow" someone's tweets will have access to or insight into a life of a friend or celebrity or whomever that they otherwise would not have. it's a busy world we all make for ourselves. i get the feeling or want to be connected even as we are running around making ourselves feel useful. i get that part of it. i do.
i think the part of it i don't get are the inherent limitations that come along with the 140 character limit. there is only so much one can say in 140 characters. maybe that's part of the fun or the art. most observations i've made, though, seem to be that it tends towards the narcissistic.
who, ultimately, are you tweeting for? yourself? your followers? both at the same time?
do your followers really care if you are having coffee and watching a bum nag passers-by? should they? what does you tweeting say about you? what does it say about those that care? i don't know. i need help.
"i am going to get my hair done."
"man, spaceballs is a really funny movie."
"i play in the nba and need to play harder in the second half. my coach yells so."
"back from a long day at work. too lazy to call you. have a good night."
"i am thinking of you all. every single one of you. aren't you thinking of me?" (to which the "followers", of course, would reply, "hell to the yes! i was just thinking of you too!" to which the original twitterer could then reply by going to sleep with a greater sense of self-worth.)
who knows. maybe i just don't want to "get it". in the same way i don't want to get updating your status on facebook. who cares? who is it for? who is worried?
listen, i am about as impersonal as they come. i am an introvert. the more covert or private my social interactions can be, the better. but this thing, this twitter, strikes even me as either shallow or lazy.
i could be wrong, and i'd love to hear from some twitterers to get your take.
as for now? "follow me on twitter".
sorry. probably not.
all those that are heartbroken raise their hands, please.
anyone?
6 comments:
Amen, brother. Can't stand twitter. I supposed some of your same arguments could be said of blogging, but at least with blogging you can (repeat can, which doesn't mean people do) at least sit down and write a well-thought out piece on some certain topic. Tweets are just, as you said, narcissistic. They reveal nothing about anyone other than you think I care what you're doing in that exact moment. Facebook I sort of get also, as it has allowed me to reconnect with some folks I hadn't talked to since high school. That's been a good thing, but the status update? Don't care so much about that. Of course, you know what all of this says about both you and I, don't you? We're old. Embrace it.
yep. you are right. it was hard typing this out and not thinking i was delivering even more ammunition that this blog, or any blog for that matter, is a giant waste of time. and maybe even more giant-ly narcissistic.
in my head, though, i have drawn the line in this way. for most blogs that i pay attention to, including my own, i would like to believe they offered some insight or commentary on their world that i respect because i respect the source of said insight.
tweets seem to be more along the line of announcments with no real depth or follow-up. and again, i acknowledge that i could definitely be missing the point.
that's why i am interested in some feedback from someone that doesn't think it's as silly as you and i do.
i'll not embrace being "old", not just yet. if seeing something that looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck and then calling it a duck makes me old, well then, i would say that says much more about my accuser, wouldn't you? ;)
That's funny you blogged about that today. I hadn't thought about twitter too much until yesterday when I found this video on youtube. It's pretty funny and makes a good argument against twitter. You should watch it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PN2HAroA12w
I'm actually one of the people who has a twitter and I like it. Sometimes I do feel pathetic updating what I'm doing throughout the day. I try to only "tweet" if I have something good to say. Like sometimes if I hear a bad song on the radio at work I just can't help but make fun of it via a twitter remark. It's just a way of letting that stuff out I guess.
But just as much as I like updating my twitter I like getting updates from my friends. When I'm in the middle of a long work day or in a boring lecture at school, I like getting that text message that lets me know what a buddy is doing or thinking at the moment. It's not a lot, but it makes me feel connected just a little more. It helps me get through the long days.
Well....I guess I am too shallow to do anything except "tweet". Who is surprised??
deb...you and your "shallow". you are so silly.
matt...thanks for writing. i was hoping that you would. i've noticed that you have a link to your twitter on your blog.
what you say about the "connectedness" part of it does make good sense. i certainly can't begrudge that. there are, most definitely, times during some of my days that i wish i knew what was happening with my brother or a friend but i don't feel like i have time to call or email. i don't know if a text or tweet would satisfy all of the urge, but maybe it would some of it.
thanks again.
jacob...funny, funny video. nothing like a little positive reinforcement to brighten my day!
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