The Argument Against Twitter
I don’t twitter. I know a lot of important people who don’t twitter. Yet there are those in this community who are talking about twitter and online social networking as if it they are a religion.
Sorry, I’m not buying it. But the truth is there are more people out there than not who will never twitter, who will never have a facebook, linked-in or myspace page. I’ve dabbled in some of this and found much of it to be a waste of my time.
But let me spend time in a downtown coffee shop and I’m guaranteed to meet interesting new people and hear about the latest developments and scoops. Let me spend time mixing with business leaders and shop owners and I’ll get a better understanding of what’s going on in today’s economy than through twitter and online social networking.
There, I’ve said it. And to those being evangelized by the twitter devotees, ask yourself, is this digital clutter really worth the effort? I think not. I’d rather spend my time talking to real people face to face.
- Steve
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Comments
I don’t buy into Twitter as a main source of information or social networking, but it does help you coordinate ideas and plans. Like Jim said, it’s a great supplemental tool. Just like web sites aid in researching information and blogs allow you to interact with your audience, Twitter (if used correctly) can help gather info and exchange ideas with people that don’t frequent that downtown coffee shop.
Steve,
Here’s the rub. I only found out about your post today because I Twitter and I follow J Stafford. Thing is, it’s how I find out about most news information because a) I don’t have time to watch TV or listen to NPR much b) I only scan the main news headlines (via Tweet feeds and Iphone apps for NYT.) i go to newsok a couple times per week (on the iPhone), just to see if I’ve missed out on anything my peeps on FB and Twitter didn’t tell me about.
People who tweet seem to be more timely and responsive than, say, if I called my friend, got voice mail, waited anywhere between a day or two days to hear back. Instead, if I have a question I need answered or something to promote, I can send it to my 500+ Twitter/FB “followers/friends” and get a near instantaneous response and be down the road.
Sure, we all have friends who aren’t on Twitter – some of my 30-something friends don’t even feel comfortable attaching a doc to an e-mail – yet the ones I communicate with the most do use the same technology as I do. And it’s a great way to PLAN for those face-to-face meetings.
What’s Twitter? Probably as important as a 12 year old having a cell phone to call Mommy if they scrape their knee.
Twitter is for girls.
Female thought patterns are like bowls of spaghetti: each noodle intertwines with many other noodles, sharing bits and pieces with each, never ending…
Male thought patterns are like waffles: little compartments that are separate from the others, and dealt with only one at a time…
Who the hell wants to know what everyone is doing all the time!? Girls.
Steve -
Very timely topic. I signed up for Twitter four days ago and posted this:
“I am staring off the twitter cliff and wondering if I should jump…stay tuned.”
I still haven’t posted again and can’t decide for myself whether it is worth the hassle. I will say though that it took me nearly two years to see the brilliance of Facebook and while I realize its limitations, I certainly appreciate its functionality!
Twitter and other social networking sites are merely a tool to spread information and (hopefully) to facilitate more frequent face-to-face contacts. Not everyone needs online social networking and I predict that a new movement toward human physicality will result from this presentexperiment in virtual connectivity.
Dear Steve, We once were friends, but now I spend all my time on Twitter and Facebook. Perhaps if you would get on Twitter and Facebook, we could be friends again. (But seriously, we need to do lunch … or at least exchange cybeyrecipes via a social networking site.)
[...] So saith Steve Lackmeyer: [T]here are those in this community who are talking about Twitter and online social networking as if … they are a religion. [...]
Bobby, you know I’ve tried to set something up with you twice this past two weeks. Glad I got your attention!
As with anything else in life, Steve, you get out of Twitter what you put into it. If you’ve only “dabbled” in social networks, it’s not surprising that you haven’t found any benefit. Similarly, I rarely have time to visit coffee shops, so I don’t find them useful for meeting new people.
I do, however, spend a fair amount of time communicating via Twitter. I’ve made both personal and professional contacts. I’ve arranged far more face-to-face meetups through Twitter than I ever did sitting around a coffee shop. And I hear about news when it happens from people who are there — not filtered a day later from the newspaper.
There is no one perfect way to communicate — different mediums work for different people. If Twitter doesn’t work for you, that’s cool. But for other people, social networks may work as well, or even better, than your coffee shop.
I am happy for you. Thankfully the world is full of different people. I like Twitter and use it every day but I would not expect every person to like it any more than I would expect every person to like onions on their hamburger. I say if you do not like it, then do not use it. The rest of us will continue as before.
Thanks,
Paul
Recent & interesting demographic report on Twitter user demographics from the Pew Research Center. See:
http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1117/twitter-tweet-users-demographics
Twitter users tend to be young and “significant consumers of blog content.” Much more in the report.
Steve,
If you’re not into these kinds of websites then you definitely need to check out this:
LMAO! They were talking about it on the Sports Animal this morning. I checked it out and it’s a hoot! Especially their FAQ page 
If you don’t enjoy sending electronic ham bones to your friends for loyalty points then this is the place for you!
[...] The Argument Against Twitter "…But let me spend time in a downtown coffee shop and I’m guaranteed to meet interesting new people and hear about the latest developments and scoops. Let me spend time mixing with business leaders and shop owners and I’ll get a better understanding of what’s going on in today’s economy than through twitter and online social networking." (tags: okccentral social.networks) [...]
George posted a link to the Pew Research on twitter… I was certain that it would support my thesis that twitter is for girls. The article didn’t include that data so I wrote the author of the article to ask. She was kind enough to reply… (I now officially recognize my status as an old-fogey chauvinist curmudgeon.) Here is her reply:
No matter how you slice it, twitter use is evenly divided between men and women.
Among male internet users 11% use twitter. Among female internet users, 11% use twitter.
Sliced another way – when you look at the population of twitter users as a whole, 48% are male, 52% are female, a difference that is not statistically significant.
So I stand corrected. (However, it makes me worry about the mode of thinking of those 48% males…) And confirms my membership with you Steve, and the other 52% of REAL men!
Dennis, Thanks for following up with the author. Very interesting info. you uncovered regarding the male/female balance.
For those of you thinking of getting into twitter just remember it’s more about who YOU Follow not who follows you. You can gain so much information by following smart people. If they aren’t to your liking stop following them. it’s that easy. Follow smart people, unfollow uninteresting people. I would say you need to follow at least 30 people to say you gave it a try. And if you haven’t tried please stop saying it’s a waste of time. Like you don’t waste any time?
Phil,
…so wasting MORE time is okay? Where I work there are +/-40 people working at computers 8-5. This is time that is supposed to be spent toward the productivity of the firm. 80% Of those younger than 35 spend 20% of their time surfing the net. We had to block IM 3 years ago to reduce that from 40%! 100% of those younger than 25 spend 80% of their time surfing or TEXTING…
You think it’s an entitlement, don’t you?
Steve,
You do realize your blog is a means of social networking, right?
I think you’re right though…next time an earthquake hits or a significant event is taking place, I’ll wait and go talk to business leaders and shop owners for information. I’ll make sure I call important people that I know.
Ouch. Jake, Jake … I’ve already waved the white flag on this argument.
One suggestion: try decaf. It really is as good as regular coffee these days.
Just as you talk with people in the “real world” you can conversate the same on twitter.
If someone is talking about your brand in real life whether it be good or bad and you over hear it…are you going to step in and say something? Most likely yes!
People are talking about brands, good and bad on twitter, its a wasted oppurtunity to NOT talk to them in a MUCH MORE scalable way.
Twitter isn’t a necessity, it’s a oppurtunity!
Cheers,
-Gibs
Steve, your post raises an important distinction that fails to be made all too often: social network is no substitute for engagement on a face-to-face basis. It’s the same meme that let some to think business travel would wither to nothing. Sometimes a handshake, a beverage, and a physical “read” are essential. Social networks can, however, supplement the work you already do by organizing your contact base, keeping you up to date on incremental changes, and allowing for the distribution of content (after all, many of your blog readers follow your postings via social tools). Those tools hold great value for me and, I’ll venture to say, many of your readers. Additionally, not everyone is in a position to work a physical “beat”. Being able to connect virtually allows us to maintain the connections when demands require our physical presence elsewhere.
Regardless, thought-provoking post, as usual.