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Twitter is such an unlikely success. It's a product that few understand, and even when you do, it's hard to explain it. The functionality is dead-simple. But, a
by m52go 11y ago
Twitter is such an unlikely success. It's a product that few understand, and even when you do, it's hard to explain it. The functionality is dead-simple. But, at scale, its effect is magical.
I think closing down the service to developers was its pivotal mistake. The possibilities were endless, and could have solidified Twitter as the "utility" Topolosky speaks of...but they got greedy.
- sirkneeland 11y agoI wonder how much was actual Twitter leadership getting greedy vs investors demanding a clear plan for monetization and control.
- m52go 11y agoThat's where stronger leadership would have helped, I think. If a CEO insisted on a longer-term vision, he or she could have fended off investors. Examples: Amazon, Facebook.
- sandworm101 11y ago>> But, at scale, its effect is magical. Yes, much like handing out megaphones at a music festival. I see very little value in the incoherent rambling that is twitter, but of course I'm not a market researcher or intelligence analyst.
- m52go 11y agoSounds to me like...you're using it wrong! But really. Personally, I actually do find it to be magical. It's taken 5+ years of trying, retrying, adjusting, and readjusting to get it right, but my Twitter feed is superb.
- sandworm101 11y agoLike facebook, there is no using it correctly or not. Once you are in you are socially obligated to follow everyone you know with a feed. Call me old, but I still use bookmarks. Every morning I check my news from my favorite outlets and blogs using old html. The things worth my time don't fit with twitter's approach to information.
- m52go 11y agoYeah I was being cheeky. I was a die-hard Google Reader fan until I started using Twitter, but that approach lacked social commentary. It was something I had to experience to understand. What do the people I respect recommend? What are they thinking? That might be valuable to you, as it is to me, or it might not be. Beyond that, Twitter really is just a list of links.
- sandworm101 11y agoI guess that's where twitter and me differ. The people I care to listen to do not broadcast their thoughts on public platforms, at least not the though worth listening to. They talk via closed communities.
- snowwrestler 11y ago> Like facebook, there is no using it correctly or not. Once you are in you are socially obligated to follow everyone you know with a feed. If the way you use it keeps it from being useful, then I would suggest that you are in fact using it incorrectly. I mean, you don't have to drive all your friends around everywhere just because you own a car. And you don't have follow all your friends just because you're on Twitter. You don't even have to tell your friends you're on Twitter.
- rorykoehler 11y ago>you are socially obligated to follow everyone you know with a feed Not a chance. Only true on Facebook but that is easily taken care of by ruthlessly unfollowing/hiding all but your highest value connections.
- JBReefer 11y agoYou're being downvoted unfairly, because that's exactly what my peer group says about twitter. It just looks like a storm of hatred and noise, with some good comedy and utility in breaking news situations.
- rorykoehler 11y agoIt's a great place to keep up to date with industry news and to engage with people who you would normally never have a chance to connect with.
- cpeterso 11y agoTwitter should have taken a page from Apple's playbook: let third-party developers innovate and then integrate their functionality by copying them (Sherlock, etc) or, less so for Apple, acquiring them.
- m52go 11y agoYeah. No matter how many Ninjas and Rockstars you hire, you'll never get close to the collective creativity of the crowd. It's a critical mistake for a service that's billed as a "platform."