What a bunch of Twits
Grandad February 9th, 2009
Last December, I started playing around with that Twitter thing.
It is the most irritating head wrecker I have come across yet, but it is strangely intriguing. Like all good car crashes, I want to tear myself away, but I still want to find out what happens next.
To those of you who haven’t been sucked into it, it is a cross between instant messaging and mini-blogging. The weirdest thing is that there is a limit of 140 characters. So I couldn’t write what I’m writing now.
One of the things that annoys me most is that all the messages aren’t connected, so you need a good memory to remember what you said to whom. And we all know that memory isn’t my strong point.
Say for example, someone sends me an email -
Grandad – you’re a wanker.
That’s fine because I can reply to that -
Why?
> Grandad – you’re a wanker.
On the other hand, if they use Twitter they send
@headrambles You’re a wanker
I reply
@barackobama Why?
And they reply
@headrambles Why what?
because they have forgotten the original message.
You can see where the confusion arises?
Another concept that has me confused is the business of following people. As of this moment I have 127 people following me around the place. Yesterday I had 128, but I seem to have lost one. It’s very easy to get lost in the mountains, and I’m certainly not going out to look for them in this weather. Why are these people following me? It’s worse that the damned CIA, and it took me long enough to get rid of them.
Then of course there is the language associated with it. Twitter. Tweeting. Retweet. Twits. For fuck’s sake!
Most of the time I just switch it off. All those little messages informing me of new Tweets gets very irritating. Then when I switch it on again, I haven’t a clue what’s going on.
So I do what I do best.
Spread confusion and mayhem.
Excuse me now.
I have some Twittering to do.
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So far I’ve managed to avoid twitter. I came very close to signing up to it over the weekend but then thought better of it. Instead I just update my facebook status which is pretty much the same thing.
I love this parody of what if some was using twitter during the hindenburg disaster.
Robert – It’s a strange place but a lot less strange than Facebook. I love the parody, especially the ending. Typical!
here’s what the Boston Globe has to say about it.
I suppose you know too they’re all having a “twestival” in Dublin this Thursday. A well placed … could have a big effect!
http://dublin.twestival.com/
You can’t avoid being sucked into it Grandad. You’re just going to have to live with the fact you have to check your timeline every 3 minutes just to keep up with the conversations!
Twitter is for people with short attensi…..
[...] Grandad’s now officially a member of the [...]
For the life of me I can’t figure out why it’s so popular. I thought some inside info on Jonathan Ross would be interesting, but it really isn’t. You’d want to have the damn application stapled to your forehead to keep up with the randomness.
Darragh – A Twestival? Oh God! *groan* I like the Boston Globes take on it though.
TheChrisD – I check about every eight hours, unless I’m sleeping. They can feck off.
Jim C – There speaks a true Twi..
K8 – It is good for throwing insults around and starting false rumours?
I won’t get involved. Sounds like the perfect forum for textese, and I’m nt hvng dat.
Radge – U wd B srprisd to hear tht it is rmrkably free of txtspk.
First Twitter then textspeak…? Last month I was soooo proud of myself for discovering Facebook and actually *signing up*. What do you do after that?
No time to leave a comment I have to tweet about my day yesterday
Oh don’t!! I tried ….. and failed dismally – I like the ‘following’ bit, but it reminds of the chatrooms of long ago where I just end up being the sad person who can’t get a word in edgeways.
I’ve given up!
I just wrote about twitter on my blog today! Mainly because I was trying to find my last ‘tweets’ to see if anyone responded because I don’t get ‘nudged’ if I haven’t ‘tweeted’ in 24 hours. Of course I couldn’t follow what in the world was going on. I think it’s designed for the real stalker with lots of twime to twitter, twang or whatever the twuck it is they do on their tweetdecks.
[...] there’s a coincidence, Grandad wrote about twitter today too.. If you liked this article, please pass it [...]
Susan – The first thing you do is send me your username so I can buy [or sell] you. It’s the only thing Facebook is good for.
Kate – I know the feeling. It is a very strange world in there.
Dorothy – I was wondering where you had gone! It’s not bad for twadvertising twlog posts though?
twadvertising twlog post’s probably all it’s good for.. that and reading all about everything that mcwilliams does in an average day.
Oh tweet Jesus – have you seen this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ioa_t8L97AI