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Can anybody on Twitter tell me how Twitter is at all a useful service? I've read all the "Twitter is opt-in goodness" but every time I've used it it just seems
by unalone 18y ago
Can anybody on Twitter tell me how Twitter is at all a useful service? I've read all the "Twitter is opt-in goodness" but every time I've used it it just seems like another self-whoring arena.
- cstejerean 18y agoIt depends on who you follow.
- unalone 18y agoI followed Merlin. :-/ Seriously, most of the things people would say there - Merlin and Zeldman especially - were more geared towards humorous than they were towards at all interesting. RSS worked a lot better if I was looking for productive content.
- mtw 18y agohalf of my updates on twitter are replies to friends or coworkers, so it's mostly about communication about current projects, discussing news, etc. and I only follow people that I've met irl
- unalone 18y agoThen I guess it's a matter of different social spheres. Where I am nobody uses Twitter.
- mtw 18y agodepends also on what you do. i work with many companies and many entrepreneurs so that's where twitter is useful. solo-entrepreneurs, consultants, bloggers might also find very it useful. also, if you go to local programming/hacker meetups, you're bound to find a few who use twitter.
- unalone 18y agoBut that's the problem. I dislike most programmer/hacker types. While I think I've something of a hacker personality, I'm far more a critic than I am a hacker. And most hackers are completely unpolished and unfocused. The people who follow my account on Twitter, for instance, are the sorts of people who constantly linkspam. I can't stand that. And I find some people on Twitter funny, but that isn't productive and it's not thought-provoking. Blog posts at least provide some thought: Twitter, I find, rarely does.
- fallentimes 18y agoWow that's a lot of generalizations. What if you just stuck to following friends only? Or is it the chicken/egg problem? Just because they follow you doesn't mean you have to follow them. :)
- whacked_new 18y agoAn interesting take: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/07/magazine/07awareness-t.html http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/07/magazine/07awareness-t.htm...
- fallentimes 18y agoRestaurant, music and book recommendations alone have been worth it. Also, it's an easy way to keep in touch with people without much work. But you're right - if you don't have a solid group of friends using it - it's retarded.