Two weeks with Twitter

March 17 2008

Two weeks ago, I started using Twitter as a microblogging tool.  This wasn't a new discovery -- I originally signed up last year, but didn't immediately see the utility.  The more I saw others using Twitter, though, the more I understood how small "what am I doing" updates weren't so much an additional ego window as they were a broadcast mechanism.  So, I put a widget on the blog, added the Twitter site to bookmarks and txt message and the IM bot to Google talk, and away we've gone.

Now, two weeks later, I totally get it.  I'm even enjoying it.  It is fun to watch the banter as tweets cross the wire about anything and everything.  I've learned about new sites and tools, and been able to track the goings-on for friends and colleagues.  It's a conversation starter.  It's a news service.  It's even a way to let off some stream.

Like any community-oriented technology, there are some conventions and norms to figure out when you really start using it.  I didn't really need a txt message every time someone decided to update their status.  I didn't know to look for replies from people I don't follow for a few days.  For me, this would have been completely overwhelming in the Lotusphere experiment.  Still, it seems pretty cool, fairly customizable, and very lightweight.  I'm going to stick with it, much as many others have.

One thing I haven't decided -- whether the Twitter widget is a permanent replacement for Plazes.  I don't think they do the same things -- place-based awareness versus real-time updates.  But Plazes has been off the blog since the opening general session of Lotusphere, and in eight weeks, only one person has even commented on it.  Maybe my tweets are enough to accomplish the same thing.  At the moment it essentially does -- my last tweet as of this blog posting is about the 300 people registered for Lotusphere Comes to You Chicago tomorrow.  Traffic permitting, I should be there at the start of the day, and while I have a few meetings, I promise I'll be around for the 4 PM networking (=cocktail hour).  Looking forward to seeing many of you there.

Ed Brill Highland Park, IL USA Category:  Blogging  Add/View Comments [13]

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  1. 1  Chris Miller http://www.IdoNotes.com | 3/17/2008 10:38:41 PM

    Amazingly I find myself there watching and having faster channels of communication. Couple this with a few other social sites and I have my day all wrapped up a couple simple screens. You can find more info from me via Twitter than long blog posts, like what site I am reading or what I am looking at. Shareaholic makes that a simple click option.

    { Link }

  1. 2  Chris Miller http://www.IdoNotes.com | 3/17/2008 10:39:53 PM

    P.S. I have a tab on my blog for Where Am I, which is hooked also to the widget for Dopplr. I update once and it pushes out everywhere. So now we can see overlapping trips with others that let you see cities they will be in.

    Ed just doesnt update his enough. :-)

  1. 3  Alan lepofsky http://Http://www.alanlepofsky.net  | 3/18/2008 4:44:52 AM

    I'm pretty addicted to updating my status via TwitterBerry, but beyond that I don't think I'm taking advantage of the potential value available. I don't really know how to follow people, reply to them, use groups, send private messages, etc. My friends are on Facebook, so I follow their updates there, mainly via the Facebook app for BlackBerry. Having to look at status in two places does not interest me. Yes, I know I could use as RSS feed, I guess I should get better at that. I am very impressed with the amount of info people put into their status messages. I often find them informative, educational, and even fun! Ill keep twitting, but for me Facebook provides a lot more connection to my group of friends.

  1. 4  Alan lepofsky http://Http://www.alanlepofsky.net  | 3/18/2008 4:46:48 AM

    I'm pretty addicted to updating my status via TwitterBerry, but beyond that I don't think I'm taking advantage of the potential value available. I don't really know how to follow people, reply to them, use groups, send private messages, etc. My friends are on Facebook, so I follow their updates there, mainly via the Facebook app for BlackBerry. Having to look at status in two places does not interest me. Yes, I know I could use as RSS feed, I guess I should get better at that. I am very impressed with the amount of info people put into their status messages. I often find them informative, educational, and even fun! Ill keep twitting, but for me Facebook provides a lot more connection to my group of friends.

  1. 5  Nathan T. Freeman http://nathan.lotus911.com | 3/18/2008 5:29:33 AM

    Don't you people have work to do? :-P

  1. 6  Julian Woodward http://blog.woowar.com | 3/18/2008 6:16:07 AM

    I have to admit I still don't really get the point of Twitter, despite having used it on and off for a few months. I only really use it as an easy way of updating my Facebook status by sending a status message.

    Facebook is so much richer an environment than Twitter is. Honest question: what does Twitter offer than you can't do just by updating your Facebook status?

  1. 7  Ed Brill http://www.edbrill.com | 3/18/2008 7:15:39 AM

    @6 signal to noise ratio is quite different...and the widgets to highlight my Tweets (or others) without having to be subscribers and "friends" is a huge benefit.

  1. 8  Charles Robinson http://cubert-codepoet.blogspot.com | 3/18/2008 8:59:19 AM

    I'm with Nathan on this one. See, we do agree sometimes!

    I have never even looked at Twitter, I barely got started with Skype before giving up on it, and I've stopped using Facebook for the most part. I even culled down my RSS feed to less than 30. All this social connectedness has become a huge time sink that I can't afford right now.

  1. 9  Chris Miller http://www.IdoNotes.com | 3/18/2008 12:44:41 PM

    @Charles - Some people live in that manner, getting info from a few select feeds and thrive on it. Others need a stream of input. I gave up on Facebook long ago and update Facebook from other sources instead. I know Alan sees most of my Tweets in there because he responds via Facebook rather than Twitter (lesson coming to Alan when he gets back). But my ring goes way outside Lotus people which means no reliance on BleedYellow (yes I sit on it but I talk to many others across the world via Twitter), get to the points posts and links and use things like TerraMinds to find Lotus posts and info I never would have found watching some blog feeds.

    But I commend all those that do anything to gather more info in any fashion.

  1. 10  Tim Rand  | 3/18/2008 2:34:02 PM

    I tried to fiddle around with creating a signature that included my last status and couldn't figure it out. Perhaps another smart person can.

  1. 11  Tim Haugen  | 3/18/2008 7:55:07 PM

    { Link }

  1. 12  Charles Robinson http://cubert-codepoet.blogspot.com | 3/18/2008 8:26:31 PM

    @Chris - I didn't mean to sound like more of a Luddite than usual. My participation ebbs and flows based on time available. I'm crazy busy right now and my world is only comprised very marginally of Lotus stuff. The information I need on a day to day basis (read: mostly Microsoft related) isn't very well disseminated via social networking type sources. I use GTalk and IRC more than anything else these days.

  1. 13  David Bell  | 3/18/2008 9:29:40 PM

    The widget catalog on Tranquility/TurtleWeb has a Twitter related widget for the Notes 8.0.1 sideshelf, not that I use it so can't comment on its utility.