Comments on: twitter's an engine, not a car http://everlastingnow.com/index.php/concepts/twitters-an-engine-not-a-car/ an exploration of moments Tue, 25 Aug 2009 13:03:59 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 By: Jim Jacoby http://everlastingnow.com/index.php/concepts/twitters-an-engine-not-a-car/comment-page-1/#comment-998 Jim Jacoby Mon, 27 Apr 2009 13:30:01 +0000 http://www.everlastingnow.com/?p=126#comment-998 thanks for the comment. i think the shams are being shown for what they are. the fact that twitter is picking up some alliteration with 'fritter' is actually a promising sign... not for the death of twitter. i wouldn't wish that on them. but, perhaps for the impending death of thoughtless voyeurism. companies who pick up on the concept that 'personas' can be established in the twitter-scape for a company (i.e., the helpful customer service person, the general broadcaster, the concerned responder, etc.) all mean that we can be honest about what we're doing out there. and perhaps a little less enthralled with the company who picks up a tweet about someone over the brink with bad customer service. if you missed it in customer service so badly that a customer decided to just yell into the void of twitter, you just failed. don't throw your shoulder out patting yourself on the back that you have a corporate twitter strategy. you have a total failure alarm system at best. thanks for the comment. i think the shams are being shown for what they are. the fact that twitter is picking up some alliteration with ‘fritter’ is actually a promising sign… not for the death of twitter. i wouldn’t wish that on them. but, perhaps for the impending death of thoughtless voyeurism. companies who pick up on the concept that ‘personas’ can be established in the twitter-scape for a company (i.e., the helpful customer service person, the general broadcaster, the concerned responder, etc.) all mean that we can be honest about what we’re doing out there. and perhaps a little less enthralled with the company who picks up a tweet about someone over the brink with bad customer service. if you missed it in customer service so badly that a customer decided to just yell into the void of twitter, you just failed. don’t throw your shoulder out patting yourself on the back that you have a corporate twitter strategy. you have a total failure alarm system at best.

]]> By: Jim Jacoby http://everlastingnow.com/index.php/concepts/twitters-an-engine-not-a-car/comment-page-1/#comment-2469 Jim Jacoby Mon, 27 Apr 2009 13:30:01 +0000 http://www.everlastingnow.com/?p=126#comment-2469 thanks for the comment. i think the shams are being shown for what they are. the fact that twitter is picking up some alliteration with 'fritter' is actually a promising sign... not for the death of twitter. i wouldn't wish that on them. but, perhaps for the impending death of thoughtless voyeurism. companies who pick up on the concept that 'personas' can be established in the twitter-scape for a company (i.e., the helpful customer service person, the general broadcaster, the concerned responder, etc.) all mean that we can be honest about what we're doing out there. and perhaps a little less enthralled with the company who picks up a tweet about someone over the brink with bad customer service. if you missed it in customer service so badly that a customer decided to just yell into the void of twitter, you just failed. don't throw your shoulder out patting yourself on the back that you have a corporate twitter strategy. you have a total failure alarm system at best. thanks for the comment. i think the shams are being shown for what they are. the fact that twitter is picking up some alliteration with ‘fritter’ is actually a promising sign… not for the death of twitter. i wouldn’t wish that on them. but, perhaps for the impending death of thoughtless voyeurism. companies who pick up on the concept that ‘personas’ can be established in the twitter-scape for a company (i.e., the helpful customer service person, the general broadcaster, the concerned responder, etc.) all mean that we can be honest about what we’re doing out there. and perhaps a little less enthralled with the company who picks up a tweet about someone over the brink with bad customer service. if you missed it in customer service so badly that a customer decided to just yell into the void of twitter, you just failed. don’t throw your shoulder out patting yourself on the back that you have a corporate twitter strategy. you have a total failure alarm system at best.

]]> By: Jim Bierbower http://everlastingnow.com/index.php/concepts/twitters-an-engine-not-a-car/comment-page-1/#comment-452 Jim Bierbower Wed, 08 Apr 2009 21:33:29 +0000 http://www.everlastingnow.com/?p=126#comment-452 I'm with you. The whole Twitter concept escapes me, and I actually have an account. Call me a Luddite, but isn't the field already crowded with non-value-added time wasters? And really, those are pointed at children who don't know any better. What value do relentless 140-character bursts of mental flatulence have to do with advancing anything. Why are people so self-absorbed that they believe everyone following them care what they are dong at any given moment? The Unabomber is starting to look downright sane compared to a lot of sheeple. I’m with you. The whole Twitter concept escapes me, and I actually have an account. Call me a Luddite, but isn’t the field already crowded with non-value-added time wasters? And really, those are pointed at children who don’t know any better. What value do relentless 140-character bursts of mental flatulence have to do with advancing anything. Why are people so self-absorbed that they believe everyone following them care what they are dong at any given moment? The Unabomber is starting to look downright sane compared to a lot of sheeple.

]]> By: Jim Bierbower http://everlastingnow.com/index.php/concepts/twitters-an-engine-not-a-car/comment-page-1/#comment-2468 Jim Bierbower Wed, 08 Apr 2009 21:33:29 +0000 http://www.everlastingnow.com/?p=126#comment-2468 I'm with you. The whole Twitter concept escapes me, and I actually have an account. Call me a Luddite, but isn't the field already crowded with non-value-added time wasters? And really, those are pointed at children who don't know any better. What value do relentless 140-character bursts of mental flatulence have to do with advancing anything. Why are people so self-absorbed that they believe everyone following them care what they are dong at any given moment? The Unabomber is starting to look downright sane compared to a lot of sheeple. I’m with you. The whole Twitter concept escapes me, and I actually have an account. Call me a Luddite, but isn’t the field already crowded with non-value-added time wasters? And really, those are pointed at children who don’t know any better. What value do relentless 140-character bursts of mental flatulence have to do with advancing anything. Why are people so self-absorbed that they believe everyone following them care what they are dong at any given moment? The Unabomber is starting to look downright sane compared to a lot of sheeple.

]]> By: Trent http://everlastingnow.com/index.php/concepts/twitters-an-engine-not-a-car/comment-page-1/#comment-69 Trent Mon, 02 Mar 2009 18:01:38 +0000 http://www.everlastingnow.com/?p=126#comment-69 While I completely agree that incessant Twittering may be the downfall of the service and drive users to simply become bored with the chatter, it obviously satisfies some need for its rabid user base now. (DISCLOSURE: I am not part of that user base and don't ever see myself as a regular Twitterer) For example, <a href="http://twitter.zappos.com/start" rel="nofollow">this post by Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos.com</a>, gives a great usage of Twitter in simply sending an update to a large group of his peers about what he is doing right now. However, it's Tony's relationship with those peers outside of Twitter that drives the interaction. When I was first evaluating Twitter, I got frustrated with the communication (or lack thereof) that can occur in response to my Tweets. Perhaps what I didn't realize, though, is this follow-up interaction is not something Twitter is trying to facilitate. They are simply providing a way for you to communicate to <strong>(not with)</strong> your "followers" what you are doing. The follow-up interaction is the responsibility of...some other medium. Another good example of this follow-up interaction is <a href="http://deadspin.com/5159733/shaquille-oneal-should-probably-have-his-twitter-taken-away-from-him" rel="nofollow">Shaq's use of the Twitter service to meet fans</a>. How else could Shaq give his fans this immediate opportunity to get tickets to a game without a tool like Twitter. It feels a lot like the short-lived "Flash Mob" craze of a few years ago, but it is coordinated by celebrity and business. Perhaps Twitter is simply not a tool for Joe SixPack. My frustration was a result of my not having a personal relationship with my followers. I'm not a celebrity, I don't have a blog, and I don't have a lot of friends on Twitter. I was simply yelling at the world, "HERE'S WHAT I'M DOING!", and nobody cared. But celebrities and businesses have followers that want to know what is going on right now. The simplicity of the tool and the ease at which the right users can notify followers about your activities is the real value of Twitter, in my opinion. While I completely agree that incessant Twittering may be the downfall of the service and drive users to simply become bored with the chatter, it obviously satisfies some need for its rabid user base now. (DISCLOSURE: I am not part of that user base and don’t ever see myself as a regular Twitterer)

For example, this post by Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos.com, gives a great usage of Twitter in simply sending an update to a large group of his peers about what he is doing right now. However, it’s Tony’s relationship with those peers outside of Twitter that drives the interaction.

When I was first evaluating Twitter, I got frustrated with the communication (or lack thereof) that can occur in response to my Tweets. Perhaps what I didn’t realize, though, is this follow-up interaction is not something Twitter is trying to facilitate. They are simply providing a way for you to communicate to (not with) your “followers” what you are doing. The follow-up interaction is the responsibility of…some other medium.

Another good example of this follow-up interaction is Shaq’s use of the Twitter service to meet fans. How else could Shaq give his fans this immediate opportunity to get tickets to a game without a tool like Twitter. It feels a lot like the short-lived “Flash Mob” craze of a few years ago, but it is coordinated by celebrity and business.

Perhaps Twitter is simply not a tool for Joe SixPack. My frustration was a result of my not having a personal relationship with my followers. I’m not a celebrity, I don’t have a blog, and I don’t have a lot of friends on Twitter. I was simply yelling at the world, “HERE’S WHAT I’M DOING!”, and nobody cared. But celebrities and businesses have followers that want to know what is going on right now.

The simplicity of the tool and the ease at which the right users can notify followers about your activities is the real value of Twitter, in my opinion.

]]> By: Trent http://everlastingnow.com/index.php/concepts/twitters-an-engine-not-a-car/comment-page-1/#comment-2467 Trent Mon, 02 Mar 2009 18:01:38 +0000 http://www.everlastingnow.com/?p=126#comment-2467 While I completely agree that incessant Twittering may be the downfall of the service and drive users to simply become bored with the chatter, it obviously satisfies some need for its rabid user base now. (DISCLOSURE: I am not part of that user base and don't ever see myself as a regular Twitterer) For example, <a href="http://twitter.zappos.com/start" rel="nofollow">this post by Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos.com</a>, gives a great usage of Twitter in simply sending an update to a large group of his peers about what he is doing right now. However, it's Tony's relationship with those peers outside of Twitter that drives the interaction. When I was first evaluating Twitter, I got frustrated with the communication (or lack thereof) that can occur in response to my Tweets. Perhaps what I didn't realize, though, is this follow-up interaction is not something Twitter is trying to facilitate. They are simply providing a way for you to communicate to <strong>(not with)</strong> your "followers" what you are doing. The follow-up interaction is the responsibility of...some other medium. Another good example of this follow-up interaction is <a href="http://deadspin.com/5159733/shaquille-oneal-should-probably-have-his-twitter-taken-away-from-him" rel="nofollow">Shaq's use of the Twitter service to meet fans</a>. How else could Shaq give his fans this immediate opportunity to get tickets to a game without a tool like Twitter. It feels a lot like the short-lived "Flash Mob" craze of a few years ago, but it is coordinated by celebrity and business. Perhaps Twitter is simply not a tool for Joe SixPack. My frustration was a result of my not having a personal relationship with my followers. I'm not a celebrity, I don't have a blog, and I don't have a lot of friends on Twitter. I was simply yelling at the world, "HERE'S WHAT I'M DOING!", and nobody cared. But celebrities and businesses have followers that want to know what is going on right now. The simplicity of the tool and the ease at which the right users can notify followers about your activities is the real value of Twitter, in my opinion. While I completely agree that incessant Twittering may be the downfall of the service and drive users to simply become bored with the chatter, it obviously satisfies some need for its rabid user base now. (DISCLOSURE: I am not part of that user base and don’t ever see myself as a regular Twitterer)

For example, this post by Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos.com, gives a great usage of Twitter in simply sending an update to a large group of his peers about what he is doing right now. However, it’s Tony’s relationship with those peers outside of Twitter that drives the interaction.

When I was first evaluating Twitter, I got frustrated with the communication (or lack thereof) that can occur in response to my Tweets. Perhaps what I didn’t realize, though, is this follow-up interaction is not something Twitter is trying to facilitate. They are simply providing a way for you to communicate to (not with) your “followers” what you are doing. The follow-up interaction is the responsibility of…some other medium.

Another good example of this follow-up interaction is Shaq’s use of the Twitter service to meet fans. How else could Shaq give his fans this immediate opportunity to get tickets to a game without a tool like Twitter. It feels a lot like the short-lived “Flash Mob” craze of a few years ago, but it is coordinated by celebrity and business.

Perhaps Twitter is simply not a tool for Joe SixPack. My frustration was a result of my not having a personal relationship with my followers. I’m not a celebrity, I don’t have a blog, and I don’t have a lot of friends on Twitter. I was simply yelling at the world, “HERE’S WHAT I’M DOING!”, and nobody cared. But celebrities and businesses have followers that want to know what is going on right now.

The simplicity of the tool and the ease at which the right users can notify followers about your activities is the real value of Twitter, in my opinion.

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