Twitter Dilema

Hello all,

It's time for a random post to fill the void I have left on this blog lately. I wanted to take some time to talk about Twitter which has been my social networking medium of choice for a very long time. When it first hit the web I was apprehensive and didn't understand it completely but that soon changed and I quickly became a fan. Since then I have built solid network, nothing huge, but it's solid and manageable. I follow a lot of advertising and design people/companies which has given me instant access to tons of news and updates in my field. I still think Twitter is extremely beneficial when used properly but lately my interest has begun to fade. I'm not sure if it's just me or if I need to start following more people or what. I like to restrict the list of people I follow to a reasonable number because it gets annoying scrolling for ages trying to catch up with all of the tweets. A lot of what I read on Twitter lately does little to nothing for me. I don't retweet news nearly as often as I used to and I hardly Tweet anything myself.

Is anyone else feeling the same way about Twitter or am I just not "getting it" again? I don't think the latter is the case at all but I'm still curious. There are days when I think Twitter is becoming more and more of a front for people to put on. Buzz words run rampent and some tweets and profiles are just so gaggy. Can't we all be real humans while sharing information without sounding like we're trying so hard? Don't get me wrong though, there are still a number of real people who post quality tweets and links but I tend to notice that the general population on Twitter seems to be going through some sort of intellectual decay or jargon induced stupor. For how helpful and informative the site can be when used appropriately, it's a shame it gets flooded with tweets from the mundane, pointless, or forced categories. Am I horribly mistaken here?

"Who To Follow": Will it lead Twitter down the same dark and failed path as Facebook?

I logged into Twitter a few minutes ago and noticed a new feature called "who to follow" and I found myself asking "why?!".  For those who don't know, I have been less and less interested in Facebook for quite some time and I have been debating deleting my account over the past few months. I am a huge believer that Twitter, when used correctly, can be an amazing tool for networking, learning, and finding a plethora of valuable information you may have otherwise overlooked. On the contrary, I think Facebook is a medium for college students (and now, people much younger and much older) to take part in social "networking" activities that don't hold much value at all. Yes, of course it is a great way to keep in contact with people, which is the reason I continue to keep my account, but a majority of the rest of Facebook just seems pointless to me ("Likeing" everything, fan groups for absolutely everything, status rants, having 500+ "friends") it's just too much.

Two specific things I have never liked about Facebook are the "people you may know" and "recommended pages" features. I have always thought it was a joke to have hundreds and hundreds of friends on a friends list when a fraction of them are actually valuable relationships.  To be recommended more people and things to add just because they are a friend-of-a-friend-of-a-friend who likes the same thing as another friend who knows you is just annoying. If you don't know someone well enough or like them enough to add them in the first place then why add them at all? This brings me to my point with Twitter's new addition. It does the exact same thing as mentioned above. It pulls information from the people you already follow, checks into who else follows them and suggests you follow the third party because you might get along.  I don't know... maybe this posting makes no sense and has no people who agree. I just think it's an unnecessary feature.  Twitter has been fine from the start; simple, clean, easy to use, etc. The "find people" feature on Twitter worked and still works for looking up new people to follow, and it actually means you have to know a name to search for in the first place. I don't have an urge to follow these suggestions whether I recognize them or not. There's likely a reason why I haven't searched them out on my own. Long story short, I see what Twitter is trying to do but I hope they know what they are really doing. We don't need another Facebook. I welcome any thoughts anyone has, I am really interested to see where this takes the brand and who knows, maybe my opinion will change.

Tweet Tweet

What is the value of Twitter? Better yet, what's the point? I used to ask questions like this but now I am hooked on social networking's new kid on the block (not so new but arguably so in terms of popularity). When I first started hearing about Twitter I didn't fully comprehend the need for such a basic site allowing users to only update their statuses. I have been an avid user of Facebook since the days when it was rightfully only open to real college students and I originally saw more of a purpose in a site like Facebook rather than Twitter. I was attracted to Facebook's various features and depth but now I am finding myself making a 180 degree turn and favoring Twitter for its cleanliness (no annoying applications, ads, updates, reminders, suggestions, etc.), simplicity (a status bar and a short user bio get the job done superbly), and ability to be constructive (depending on who/what you're following, Twitter can be a great source of information whereas Facebook is geared more towards non-essential time-wasters).


My Twitter account is still young but I am now following organizations and companies such as the Advertising Federation of Minnesota, Advertising Age, Reuters, Campus Media and others geared towards my field of study. I also have friends and favorite artists on my list so I can keep in touch and see where the next must-see concerts are. Now rather than logging into Facebook and seeing my news feed dominated by everyone's "Top 5 __________ " and other pointless announcements, I can log into Twitter and see the latest news updates from Reuters or whats going on in the advertising industry according to AdAge. It's highly useful and beneficial and allows for quick access to essential information. If you are not a part of the Twitter sensation yet, you should really give it a shot because it might turn out to be better than you expected which was the case for me.