Link: How I Use Twitter : [chrisbrogan.com].
As always, Chris Brogan brings up some interesting points about social networking and in this case in particular, about Twitter. He discusses how he uses Twitter, and it has made me think more about how I'm using Twitter. So jumping on Brogan's coattails and riding along, here are some of my thoughts on Twitter and how I use it...
Twitter as Microphone
When I first got on Twitter, my initial tweet was a literal response to "What are you doing?" Hey, I've always been the goody two shoes who tries to follow directions - when I read them.
alizasherman reading blogs, blogging and watching my baby daughter watch a DVD and grab her toes 03:02 PM March 15, 2007 from web
But they quickly turned into descriptions of the small world around me as I sat in my dining room and the slightly larger world of my life.
alizasherman Baby squeaking. Thought she would nap now. Trying to twitter. 03:50 PM March 15, 2007 from txt
alizasherman It is a balmy 10 degrees up here! Heat wave. Will have to cut the twittering short today. Baby squeal is now a squawk. 03:57 PM March 15, 2007 from web
Twitter is like a stage. Some people step up to the microphone and clam up. Twitterites are the ones who - at least virtually - step up to the microphone and just start talking. And don't stop.
Twitter as Confessional
I'm one of those people who probably is guilty of TMI Twittering (too much information, for those who don't know). I get into moods where Twitter just tempts me to spill my guts. I try to be more cryptic. So instead of saying "I'm having a nervous breakdown," I'll say something more poetic like "Feeling dark today."
In the real world, I'm just like that. I'll talk about almost anything to people. I'll blog about miscarriage, pregnancy and post partum depression.
I recently blogged about poop and even my Dad was a bit freaked out about that (he said he thought it was "odd" and the tone of his voice made me realize he was very concerned). But then a bunch of women commented on my poop post and gave their poop stories. So maybe I'm just one of those people who will bring up the topic that others won't talk about in public but are just dying to and are relieved when someone like me says something.
But I do try to keep my tweets as sane, lucid and unoffensive as possible - because hey, if everyone un-follows, where's the fun in tweeting to a void?
Friends versus Followers
The idea of friends being people who you are following and followers being people who are following you but may or may not be your friend on Twitter - well, that's confusing.
Friends should be people who you follow and who follow you back.
Followers should be people who follow you but you don't follow them.
Faves should be people who you follow but they haven't followed you.
Of course, then it would be much more clear who is the follower versus the followee and who has the mostest friends in the sense of mutual following. Then it really becomes a ridiculous popularity contest.
I'm not trying to have lots of Twitter friends because I just cannot read all those tweets and my brain starts to smoke. So rather than short circuiting my brain, I do pick and choose who I'd like to friend. They are usually:
1. People I actually know
2. People I know peripherally
3. People I don't know but would like to know
4. People who I think are interesting
5. People whose tweets I enjoy
For #5, I have added a few people based on reading just their most recent page of tweets. And they made me laugh or think or laugh and think (a winning combination). So I add them to the mix of voices on my Twitter home page.
I've also made some virtual friends on Twitter or reconnected with acquaintances and strengthened the bond. I love that.
And yes, I do read - I don't skim. I usually back up 3-5 pages and read every tweet from every friend each time I check in. That is why I'm more selective about friending - because I really want to listen.
I often find the best links from my friends. And I follow conversations and will back up several more pages when I jump in mid-thread, just to see what they're talking about.
I don't care how many followers I have until I have a question, pose it, and get very little response. Either it is a follower/response ratio issue or I'm simply being ignored. What I do notice is how I can gain 3 followers, then lose 2, then gain one, then lose 3. I've been hovering near 180 for ages but haven't hit a tipping point.
But I don't really think that says anything about me. Should I?
Twitter as Conversation
I love sustained conversations in Twitter. I love getting the @ from friends and even from followers. I love giving the @. I'm really an @ whore. Because to me, those are the connections in this vast, rushing stream of voices.
The @ signs are the anchors and sometimes, for me, the @ signs are the life preservers being thrown out to keep me afloat. Maybe they don't know it, but those who @ me help me feel less lonely up here in the Far North. Each @ is a gem. I value my @'s.
I've been unable to participate on message boards for eons. I lose my place too often and instantly lose any momentum toward feeling that sense of community. But on Twitter, I never lose my place. I can jump into the stream immediately, immerse myself in the present, then flow backward to get up-to-date and see what I've missed, then float back to the present and know where I am.
I don't get lost in Twitter, and I appreciate that sense of place.
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