A funny Doonesbury today. As a Twitter user, I know that it is completely pointless…but it is a fun way to make little jokes and let people know what you are doing. And reading up on Shaq is always fun.
It seems like there is a Twitter backlash going on (Thanks John Dickerson of Slate for showing me Shaq’s twitter page!). But Technology always brings about a backlash. There were similar naysayers about Facebook and Myspace and all the social networking “web 2.0″ sites. Go back far enough and you’ll find people decrying the use of email and mobile phones as the harbinger of death for civilization.
Like anything, it’s all in how you use it…kids nowadays are obsessed with texting and it does seem pretty ridiculous. It’s a busy month if I send 50 txts…I can’t imagine sending several thousand…don’t these kids sleep?!. But as long as people have the ability to pick up a book or go to a museum or grab a pen and paper (or open MS word) and write or draw or think and create, I think there is still hope for our culture. I don’t think we need to blame new media and communications for the supposed decline of intellectual discourse and culture. Twitter’s 140 character limit doesn’t stop people from developing deeper thoughts, stories, and articles outside the little box a website. Maybe failing schools, bad parenting, and other aspects of American society share greater blame than than the Twitter and Facebook if society and culture seem to be declining?
It’s like the NRA says: Twitter does kill culture, people do.
sneaky
You know, I don’t get it. I’m so into technology, but some of the big internet things really just don’t stick with me. I don’t dislike twitter, but I just don’t see the point of it. Maybe its cause I don’t see the point in it for me personally. I know that the last thing I want to do is to inform the world every five minutes about what I’m doing or how I’m feeling. I think that would make me even more depressed. I personally think there is a need for taking in things before just writing them down. Its good to have a understanding of something I feel. Thats why even with my blog, I don’t update everyday. I like to sit back, think about what I’ve done and truly come up with a meaningful bit of writing when I report on my life. But thats just me, and even though thats how I feel I don’t think there’s anything wrong with using twitter or myspace or facebook or whatever you do. Although I hate when people come up to me and are like “What do you mean you don’t have a twitter account?” or the same type of thing for every little new net phenomenon. I love to jack in, but there’s a point where even I want to step out from the always connected world we are becoming more a part of.
most celebrity twitterers are sorta lame. They make at least half their posts about twittering itself, which I think is pretty uninteresting. And then the other half is usually self promotion.
For example, there’s this from david gregory. “Hey Twittlerland! We will have an exclusive interview with Defense Secretary Robert Gates Sunday. His first interview since the election.”, which is basically reads like a commercial for NBC. At least John Dickerson puts his self-promo into his “self-pimp line”.
One thing I wonder…could celebrities by embracing twitter out-scoop the paparazi?
“Dangling baby off of balcony!” – Mjackson@twitter
“I think I’m gonna shave my head…I bet I have a shapely cranium” – OopsITwitteredAgain