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I had a hard time explaining the web to my father in 1994. I guess that will never take off either.

by paul 19y ago

brlewis 19y ago
I think Matt's point is that if you start to explain Twitter to someone who isn't already excited about it, you yourself will have a hard time grasping what's exciting or even desirable.
- tptacek 19y ago
  Pretty much everything Matt said about Twitter applied to blogs as well.
  - amichail 19y ago
    Twitter lowers the barrier to entry in that respect. Most people don't have the patience to write reasonable blog posts. But with Twitter, a single sentence will do.
    - Xichekolas 19y ago
      Making it easier to 'say something' doesn't always improve the discussion. That said, I think twitter is amusing. Game changing? Who knows. But you can't deny it's a case of something that on the surface seems downright worthless, yet people have done some really creative things with it... like the story written one twitter at a time, and the twitter poems, and the fact that it seems to be a new PR outlet. Anything that people use in ways not envisioned by the creators is bound to go somewhere... whether that place is 'mainstream profitable enterprise' is yet to be seen.
      - tptacek 19y ago
        "Worthless". Pretty funny. Why was I in TheStreet (http://snipurl.com/25hkc http://snipurl.com/25hkc) last week? Twitter. Yes, my opinions on how crappy The New Pornographers were live this weekend are not particularly useful. It's not the messages that add value; it's the access to people. It seems to work particularly well for the trade press, who can use it as a LazyWeb.
        Xichekolas 19y ago
        ... Did you even read what I wrote? Maybe I'm clueless and 'trade press' and 'PR' are two different things... but if not, then that is exactly what I said. Also, "something that, on the surface, seems downright worthless" != "twitter is worthless" My whole point was just because a messaging service limited to 140 chars per message may seem like a gimmick, it's not, because people find creative uses for it.
        tptacek 19y ago
        Sorry, I didn't mean to come off so aggressive. Bad habit. I'm just pointing out a startup-relevant use that Twitter has, which is bidirectional access between the press and companies. When you said PR, I assumed you meant what JetBlue and Comcast did with the service.
        Xichekolas 19y ago
        Ahhh, I forget that big companies like to spam everything. For my part, sorry to come off so defensive... Going through caffeine withdrawal.
mattmaroon 19y ago
My point wasn't necessarily that it's hard to explain (though it is). It's that the look on their face always screams "why the hell would anyone want that?".
- amichail 19y ago
  Twitter is a more private and lightweight version of justin.tv's lifecasting. And unlike lifecasting, Twitter gives you access to people's thoughts -- not just their spoken words. At the very least, it's a fascinating experiment. Let's see where it goes.

I had a hard time explaining the web to my father in 1994. I guess that will never take off either.

by paul 19y ago

I had a hard time explaining the web to my father in 1994. I guess that will never take off either.

I think Matt's point is that if you start to explain Twitter to someone who isn't already excited about it, you yourself will have a hard time grasping what's exciting or even desirable.

tptacek 19y ago
Pretty much everything Matt said about Twitter applied to blogs as well.
- amichail 19y ago
  Twitter lowers the barrier to entry in that respect. Most people don't have the patience to write reasonable blog posts. But with Twitter, a single sentence will do.
  - Xichekolas 19y ago
    Making it easier to 'say something' doesn't always improve the discussion. That said, I think twitter is amusing. Game changing? Who knows. But you can't deny it's a case of something that on the surface seems downright worthless, yet people have done some really creative things with it... like the story written one twitter at a time, and the twitter poems, and the fact that it seems to be a new PR outlet. Anything that people use in ways not envisioned by the creators is bound to go somewhere... whether that place is 'mainstream profitable enterprise' is yet to be seen.
    - tptacek 19y ago
      "Worthless". Pretty funny. Why was I in TheStreet (http://snipurl.com/25hkc http://snipurl.com/25hkc) last week? Twitter. Yes, my opinions on how crappy The New Pornographers were live this weekend are not particularly useful. It's not the messages that add value; it's the access to people. It seems to work particularly well for the trade press, who can use it as a LazyWeb.
      - Xichekolas 19y ago
        ... Did you even read what I wrote? Maybe I'm clueless and 'trade press' and 'PR' are two different things... but if not, then that is exactly what I said. Also, "something that, on the surface, seems downright worthless" != "twitter is worthless" My whole point was just because a messaging service limited to 140 chars per message may seem like a gimmick, it's not, because people find creative uses for it.
        tptacek 19y ago
        Sorry, I didn't mean to come off so aggressive. Bad habit. I'm just pointing out a startup-relevant use that Twitter has, which is bidirectional access between the press and companies. When you said PR, I assumed you meant what JetBlue and Comcast did with the service.
        Xichekolas 19y ago
        Ahhh, I forget that big companies like to spam everything. For my part, sorry to come off so defensive... Going through caffeine withdrawal.

mattmaroon 19y ago

My point wasn't necessarily that it's hard to explain (though it is). It's that the look on their face always screams "why the hell would anyone want that?".

amichail 19y ago
Twitter is a more private and lightweight version of justin.tv's lifecasting. And unlike lifecasting, Twitter gives you access to people's thoughts -- not just their spoken words. At the very least, it's a fascinating experiment. Let's see where it goes.