Sweat-drip-drop, off the workman’s clock.
@kylecallahan Oooh, hitting the scene. Sure you’re ready?
Coffee and a chocolate croissant from Elephant’s, listening to Bob D., pondering the prospects of the day.
At work for a long day. But hey, I made good time on the crossword today, so I’m feeling on top of the world.
Being offered a kitten.
So, it looks like I have a cat.
@Eastword Still waiting to determine the gender…
My new laptop has four legs, and whiskers.
@cessator Welcome to Twitter, where the ballerz ball, and the nerdz update frequently.
Shower, and then finishing some writing.
Don’t worry, this isn’t my entry into the world of free-verse slam poetry. It’s the last couple of days of my Twitter updates.
Twitter is one of the new Web 2.0 wünderapps that takes the premise of user-generated content in new directions. It’s sort of like an instant-messenger status message, mixed with a blog. But that’s really only a surface description. The truth of the Twitter only becomes apparent when you set aside your reservations (”Do I need this?”, “I don’t get it, this is stupid”, “Why would anyone care about this?”) and dive in.
The premise is simple: Twitter asks, “What are you doing?” And you answer. It’s that simple.
To keep your answer brief, Twitter forces you to streamline your response to 140 characters. It turns the whole thing almost into poetry. And your answers, updated when you please, form a sort-of meditative narrative after a while. Your friends see your updates, alongside their own, and can even reply directly to you. Like the whole Web 2.0 project, it’s a social thang.
Clive Thompson, in an article for Wired entitled, How Twitter Creates a Social Sixth Sense, writes: “Twitter and other constant-contact media create social proprioception. They give a group of people a sense of itself, making possible weird, fascinating feats of coordination.”
In other words, it’s a lot of fun when your friends are all on it too.
I was skeptical at first. It didn’t seem like it would be interesting, let alone worth updating on a regular basis. But it is! It really is! It’s a great way to get little snippet-views into what’s going on with your friends periodically, and to vent whatever extroversion you might care to digitalize.
What’s more, for those of you living outside of rural Vermont (or any similar cell-phone no-man’s-land), you can also link up your phone to update/receive updates via text message. Again, I was really skeptical about that, and still only turn on the mobile notifications if I’m bored, but it’s actually a really cool idea and executed seamlessly.
Also, like any good Web 2.0 service, Twitter offers a development API that allows other software developers to make applications that “plug in” to the site’s service (in fact, most of my updates are sent from a nice little OS X app called Twitterific).
As an interface between different communications platforms, Twitter bridges a number of gaps simply and stylishly, and in a way that is–above all–a lot of fun to use.
You’ll notice Kyle has already added a feature on the sidebar (the one marked “Our Status”) that shows recent Twitters from his friends list, all members of the FI community. So, what are you waiting for, get on that Twit!
7 Comments
I was wondering what this whole Twitter thing was. Hmmmm?
I have an account now. But how do I use it in the sidebar? I’m anxious to tell all of you guys just how unexciting my life is.
Or you can totally ignore me, like Kyle too. When I click on the Twitter link I am directed to a page that says, “That page doesn’t exist”.
Oh, sorry, thought Kyle would field that one. You should be able to just go to Kyle’s page (http://twitter.com/kylecallahan), and click on the “add friend” link in the sidebar. Then I think he needs to likewise add you, and your updates should show up on the site.
I thought he would too, which is why I insulted him. Thanks for the info, dude.
You’re updated, fucker.
It should start showing up in the sidebar soon. Bloom’s signed up too, so we’ll soon be able to see how S.F. is handling the influx of gigantor.
I just realized a way that I use Twitter that I didn’t pick up on before, even though I was doing it.
Alex wrote above that Twitter is “sort of like an instant-messenger status message, mixed with a blog.”
Here’s an example of what that means.
I often find myself receiving an instant message when, to be honest, I’d rather continue doing what I’m doing. At the same time, I’m happy to see that one of my friends wants to talk to me, making me feel obligated to say “hello” back. This obligation is usually felt…well, not in a bad way. This is not “guilt.” It’s more like the sensation of wanting to return a friend’s wave when you just happen to pass them in a car.
The only problem with answering an unsolicited instant-message is that you run the risk of the other person turning their car around, following you, forcing you to pull over, and then coming up to your window and starting a long conversation about who knows what.
Now, I know what you’re saying. I’m supposed to set my status message to “busy” when I’m not willing to talk. But there are times when I don’t want to talk, but I do want to communicate with the outside world.
With technology taking away the risk of the unwanted pullover on the shoulder, Twitter allows you to wave to your friends as you pass each other on the Internet superhighway. It takes minimum effort and costs nothing, and it carries the potential to deliver at least a few moments of joy to a friend’s day.
Here’s one of the cool parts though: You don’t have to do this to a single person at a time. You can do it to everybody. At once.
Here’s how you know it worked. Within a few moments/minutes of your updating your Twitter, a bunch of your friends will do it too. You don’t have to filter through the rest of the world to find your friends. Just like anything good these days, it allows you to subscribe to only those you care about.
What’s even better is that instead of just receiving a wave in return, you can get an ounce — and no more! — of interesting information. Nothing to stop you from going about your thing, but just enough to continue furthering your knowledge of your friend’s lives, thereby maintaining your friendship, even if it’s only a little bit.
Example: Many of you here on Fluid Imagination.
I live in Vermont. You live elsewhere. Neither of us are much for phone conversation. But Fluid Imagination keeps us in touch with each other. Twitter extends that relationship even further…even if it’s only a little bit.
So, when I update my Twitter, it’s not because I necessarily want the people who’ve chosen to follow my Twitter to know what I’m doing. It’s more like I’m asking all of the friends who happen to be reading it at that moment, “Hey, what are you doing?”
Me? I’m writing an overly-too-long comment.