Wed 29 Jun 2011
Neat, Tweet, Petite
Posted by anaglyph under Blogging, CowBlogTech, Technology, Words
[9] Comments
The more observant among you – OK, everyone, I guess, since Malach isn’t visiting anymore – will have noticed the new Twitter feed to the right there. Yes, I have succumbed. Well, for a while anyway, until I get sick of it. But I’ll try to keep it entertaining, so those of you who are in the Twitterati, please link up to Follow.
I’m also hoping that new ideas and fun will pop out of the Twittersphere, and that it will make the Cow experience a little more interactive. So if you want the Cow to scrutinize anything in more detail – tweet me!
Now, Reverend, why must I subscribe to every new technology to avoid being thought an old man, even if said technology is shit, and despite the fact I’ve worked on the freakin’ technological cutting edge my whole life? I prefer to think I’m just discerning, and that Twittering is yet another waste of the rapidly dwindling free time I have – free time that is already being besieged by all manner of technological clutter.
So there!
Badly expressed for the sake of impact. The technology itself isn’t shit and has some good points, of course. My point is that there are so many technological trends, eating up so much of our time – and often just to perpetuate society’s obsession with self-reference. Google ‘social media icons’ and see how many there are. Personally I’m getting bored with it all, and after over twenty years of sitting in front of a computer, I feel a need to shift my focus away from ‘the latest thing’ and back to more satisfying, non-ephemeral matters. What gets my goat a little is that people often respond exactly how you did in response to that (perfectly reasonable) wish. As though it’s somehow impossible to have a satisfying life if you’re not checking Twitter and Facebook every fiive minutes, or you’ve ‘given up’.
That’s why I said ‘never!’ in response to tweeting you. No Facebook, no twitter – for me. I really feel as if I spend enough time on computers as it is. And now I must get off the bloody one and go to bed!
I’m of two minds here.
I agree with just about everything UH has said. In fact, I rather suspect the Reverend does as well.
I think the Rev is obviously “taking up the Twitter” as a functional supplement to the Cow, rather than as one of the many stand-alone exhibitio-narcissistic outlets now available in cyberspace. Again, I rather suspect UH recognizes this also.
Speaking as one who’s never tweeted and never Facebooked, I can’t pass a chance to applaud someone else who so firmly avoids such things. But, of course, at the same time, I also applaud the Rev’s efforts to extend the reach of the Cow.
I think if I had a site that I really, really, REALLY wanted to put before the widest possible audience, I’d use both Facebook and Twitter in that effort. My criticism of those things is more a criticism of effect that “the networking mentality” has had on what could have been and should have been a real creative / entertaining / informative / interesting outlet — namely, blogging. Since the Reverend has long been in the worthwhile blogging game, I’d say his “taking up the Twitter” is clearly in service of that end, rather than the kind of self-important hobnobbing it seems to be for the vast majority of folks.
@UH:
I am not a big fan of technology. That comes as a surprise to most people, especially those who know me in person, since I am well and truly ensconced in the technological world. But truthfully, I don’t much like gadgets. What I like is what they allow me to do. This is why I am a Mac fan – I don’t care how much cheaper a PC is, or that it’s somehow more ‘street’ than a Mac. I have a computer because I like to get stuff done, and I want a computer that doesn’t get in the way of that. Likewise, I see utility in blogging, in Facebook, in email, in websites – even if there are crappy downsides to all those things. Let’s take the case of Facebook. I was VERY skeptical of Facebook initially. I even had a profile status that said that I doubted I would last. I was wrong. Now, there are a LOT of annoying things about Facebook, but it has, for me, one huge strength: I can keep in touch with people all over the world who I otherwise would not. And the secret is just that phrase: ‘keep in touch’. I don’t have long conversations with them, or even meaningful dialogue, mostly, but this morning I shared a joke with a friend in San Francisco, looked at a picture of another friend’s two day old baby, wished my niece Happy 18th birthday, shared a great video clip of an 80s haircut band making their first studio album (!) with friends in Sydney, and commiserated with a sick friend in Goulburn. Just keeping in touch. And I LIKE being able to do that. Technology gets a +.
What you say about ‘trends eating up our time’ is true. It is, however, a question of what you consider ‘eating up’. The half hour I spent on Facebook doing all those things I mentioned is not something I regret in any way. And now, I will get on with my morning. Technology is a servant. You make it do what you want. If you enter into an agreement with it because you think you ought to then you are a fool.
Many people I know use Twitter. Frankly, I don’t see the utility of it, but I was the same with Facebook, so in the interests of exploration of the world, I will give it a go. I don’t see that it’s going to interfere much with my time. So far I just fling off quick observations and note the same from other people. Is it going to be a useful part of my life? I don’t yet know. If it’s not, bye bye Twitter.
@Sir Joey:
I think you might get an idea from my tweets this morning what kinds of things could be accomplished. I will also be able to ‘retweet’ some great stuff from my friends, particularly my friends in the skeptical community, that you will, hopefully find entertaining and useful. I can further see the possibility of things such as Tweet Haikus, or other amusing artforms that must be encapsulated in the 140 characters of a standard tweet.
Let me see where it takes us. Is it a grand adventure, or a fizzly fad?
Social media is the new TV. Like it or lump it.
OK, one immediate plus for tweeting that has been pointed out by a Cowmrade:
‘Whenever I visit now even if you haven’t posted there is something new. Great love it.’
This is an unexpected advantage. I encounter so much stuff during the day that I would like to write about, but that will just never make it to the front page of The Cow.
So, just to clarify in case it’s not obvious – if you see a link in a tweet, you can click it and go there without being signed up to Twitter.
This morning, there is a link to good interview with Dr Rachie from the Aust Skeptics about homeopathy (on awful mainstream radio – but just the fact that she’s there is encouraging).