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I consider myself quite a nerd, but honestly, I am struggling with exactly those questions. I do think better introductions for newcomers are needed so the expl

by _ph_ 4y ago

I consider myself quite a nerd, but honestly, I am struggling with exactly those questions. I do think better introductions for newcomers are needed so the explanations are understandable for people who are thinking in "twitter" terms. There should be just a page with a quick checklist/cheat sheet for twitter users.

Kye 4y ago
I think nerds often have an overthinking problem with it on both the learning and explanation sides. For example: extremely normie comedian Kathy Griffin got on via a short primer in an aggressively mainstream publication and started teaching her friends how things work. Lots of recent happy users are non-tech journalists and other professionals who got it from similar publications or had a friend helping. Meanwhile, serious tech journalists are having conniption fits, and nerds are wailing and gnashing teeth. There's some disconnect between how people who really understand it on a deep level are explaining it to other people who understand other technical things on a similar level and how people with 30 minutes and a publication deadline are explaining it.
- _ph_ 4y ago
  Do you have a link to that guide, I would be quite interested to read it, as I am still trying to figure out mastodon.
  - Kye 4y ago
    I lost the link. And it was on her now-suspended Twitter, so I can't go get it, unfortunately. However, I would not be surprised if helpful people popped up in your notifications if you asked questions on Mastodon (assuming you have an account).
- stormbrew 4y ago
  This is also my perception. There's a cynicism that permeates this industry about what people are capable of understanding or using if given a little time and some motivation, to the point that listening to a forum like HN you'd think no one who sits in front of a computer can even type, let alone aim a mouse at a button. Twitter was once considered pretty obtuse compared to facebook, at any rate. Once upon a time people didn't know what a retweet was or how to "at" someone. They didn't learn because twitter was "so easy" they learned because the people they wanted to talk to were there. Network effects always trump all on these things.

by _ph_ 4y ago

Kye 4y ago

I think nerds often have an overthinking problem with it on both the learning and explanation sides. For example: extremely normie comedian Kathy Griffin got on via a short primer in an aggressively mainstream publication and started teaching her friends how things work. Lots of recent happy users are non-tech journalists and other professionals who got it from similar publications or had a friend helping. Meanwhile, serious tech journalists are having conniption fits, and nerds are wailing and gnashing teeth. There's some disconnect between how people who really understand it on a deep level are explaining it to other people who understand other technical things on a similar level and how people with 30 minutes and a publication deadline are explaining it.

_ph_ 4y ago
Do you have a link to that guide, I would be quite interested to read it, as I am still trying to figure out mastodon.
- Kye 4y ago
  I lost the link. And it was on her now-suspended Twitter, so I can't go get it, unfortunately. However, I would not be surprised if helpful people popped up in your notifications if you asked questions on Mastodon (assuming you have an account).
stormbrew 4y ago
This is also my perception. There's a cynicism that permeates this industry about what people are capable of understanding or using if given a little time and some motivation, to the point that listening to a forum like HN you'd think no one who sits in front of a computer can even type, let alone aim a mouse at a button. Twitter was once considered pretty obtuse compared to facebook, at any rate. Once upon a time people didn't know what a retweet was or how to "at" someone. They didn't learn because twitter was "so easy" they learned because the people they wanted to talk to were there. Network effects always trump all on these things.