I don't tweet.
But I have browsed Twitter a few times, just to see what's going on (and I've stumbled upon some names from here, RocketDog, miketually etc)
Is it just me or is the whole thing a bit of a pain to use?
Reading a timeline of tweets is like listening to single overheard sentences of a conversation on the bus.
Yes you can click on the "View Conversation" bit, which generally gives you a bit of context, but often it is still not the whole exchange which is frustrating.
And the whole 140-character brevity thing is nice, but by the time someone has put in the various @mentions, #hashtags and maybe a shortened URL, they can only really say a few words.
And why can't I just follow some people without actually creating a Twitter account? I don't have anything to say I just want to read what others are saying in an orderly manner (I've tried the "Meet The Tweet" client which lets you do this, but it doesn't let you view conversations which is rubbish).
And why can't I just follow some people without actually creating a Twitter account?
Some people have protected accounts, which means their tweets can only be seen by approved people. Usually done for privacy reasons.
Just create an account but don't say anything. Simple.
I really was sceptical about Twitter, have been using it maybe 6 months now and i've got to say I really do like it!
I follow a lot of cyclists, from Pro MTB and road racers to people who just ride alot, I find it all very interesting!
You'll not miss anything by not being 'on' Twitter or Face Book.
Unless you're 13 years old, in which case they're more critical than food or oxygen and you will actually die if you're not checking your page every 90 seconds day and night.
As with any of the 'social media', everyone seems to find their own reason for using it.
I have Facebook & Twitter accounts but don't actively do anything with them.
There is no unfulfilled void in my life.
by registering you 'commit' to being part of the twitter experience - a large part of which involves following people.
but i know plenty of people who've registered but never tweet. once you're in you can do as much or as little as you like.
personally, i've found it informative, interesting, infuriating, hilarious, shocking, and never less than entertaining. it's a great way to interact with like-minded people, and a unique opportunity to talk directly to people you otherwise wouldn't (including celebs if that floats your boat).
there's nothing else like it. the only way to find out if it's for you is to try it.
Just create an account but don't say anything. Simple.
And you'll still get the odd email from twitter telling you you're being followed. 🙂
What am I missing?
Nothing. It's full of weirdos and spambots.
If it's taken you this long to get with the program, I'd not bother to be honest...
You'll not miss anything by not being 'on' Twitter or Face Book.
Actually I really like FaceBook and I've found plenty of interest on twitter (and I'm 37, not 13).
once you're in you can do as much or as little as you like.
My worry is that once I'm in it'll be another distraction from work - I blow enough time on here and facebook!
What are you waiting for then?
@Gee2DaEss
My worry is that once I'm in it'll be another distraction from work - I blow enough time on here and facebook!
Twitter makes me spend less time here and on Facebook. This is a good thing.
I tweet a lot... think I'm well over 5,000 and I'm full immersed in it and to be honest, I love it. Great way to stay in touch with all my old mates who are spread all over the UK, to get all the football rumours, to build personal relationships with clients, to find out riders views on the world cup, links to all the team videos, sort out rides etc etc etc.
Find some people who interest you, follow them, look at who they follow, follow more people - I follow around 200. Hook up with some mates and start conversations with them, then tweet at some famous people if you've got questions for them. You never know, Brant might even tweet you back 🙂
Some people believe not having some Twitter or being in a Face Book means you are so far out of touch with modern culture that you're effectively a social outcast. you may just as well have leprosy.
It's a bit like being a male man, and admitting you don't follow footballism.
Or that you don't drink alcohol.
Peoples heads explode trying to comprehend these things.
It's the following of people I don't really get - I know of friends who follow hundreds of folk. How on earth do you find the time to keep up with all their tweets!
Well, seeing as you've had two tries at trolling it, I'll just let you know I've noticed you.
Happy?
@Gee2DaEss
ooh is that available...
That's the other issue. It's all so public.
Apparently pretty common for potential employers to trawl twitter, so I'd have to remain anonymous (which is a pain given I want to follow local cycle groups etc) or try to avoid saying anything remotely controversial which would be.. er.. challenging.
Locking down the account to approved viewers only sounds useful.
It's possibly not for you then...if you're that scared of da maaan.
You can make your tweets private...some people on STW do that so others can't see what they're saying.
Some people believe not having some Twitter or being in a Face Book means you are so far out of touch with modern culture that you're effectively a social outcast.
I know!
Imagine wasting all that time bashing out completely pointless missives on the internet...
Oh, and you can block people easily if they're being a pain in the arras.
that's the thing - it's not anywhere near as public as, say, facebook.
you don't have to use your real name and you don't have to complete your bio if you don't want to.
you can be completely anonymous or completely honest, it's up to you. and if your employer follows you (mine does) they have to accept that they're following ME, the person. they'll soon unfollow if they don't like what they're seeing.
I notice that many wage slaves say "Opinions are mine, not that of [insert employer's name here]" on their profiles. Having said that, I very rarely say anything derogatory about my clients on there (tempting as it would be sometimes).
The only thing I've used Twitter successfully for was following last years TT seniors race as I was at work and It allowed me to receive up to the minute timings......other than that it just seems a bit boring
I've settled into a Facebook embargo. Too many times have i heard the phrase "oh yeah, i saw that on Facebook" when talking to someone. Peoples inane status updates were getting tedious and constant posting of whatever the deemed funny that day.
I sometimes wonder what we did before all this crap took up our lives
edit: The irony that I'm wasting my time on here rather than Facebook just slapped me in the face
I sometimes wonder what we did before all this crap took up our lives
Work?
Some people believe not having some Twitter or being in a Face Book means you are so far out of touch with modern culture that you're effectively a social outcast. you may just as well have leprosy.
I am Twitter, but not Facebook.
Explain how I should be feeling, as well as how others should react to me.
...in 140 characters or less, if possible.
how others should react to me.
Some say that he is a FaceBook
#w****acts
cougar is funnier on the forum than on twitter, so no need to set up an account if you're already on here
#w****acts
****facts?
Whoreacts
You can remain private and still follow people, it's not mutual "friendships" like on Facebook. They can see you follow them but not what (if anything) you tweet. Also, if you're worried about your name being seem just create an anonymous account name (eg. @lungebadger) that can't be traced back to you. You can also turn off all e-mail notifications if you so desire.
Re. the number of people you follow. Basically, the more you check it, the more you can follow. I glance at my phone with a fair degree of regularity so following 100 each people is easy, if I only looked once a day I might want to half that. Also remember that some people tweet a lot, other rarely.
Whoreacts
To tweet or not to tweet, that is the question? Tis nobler in the media to be informed about what you can do or not and... its free and painless - try it. If you don't like it stop it. My OH does FB I do twitter and I have conversations with people I know I'll never meet! Pick a topic you are interested in let's say... cycling and follow soem magzines, organisations and famous people, you will then get to know others of interest to you. I have learned a lot about differtn stuff by following links posted up on Twitter, but.. its no biggie and anyone who says it is,is #anearichter
It's the following of people I don't really get - I know of friends who follow hundreds of folk. How on earth do you find the time to keep up with all their tweets!
Why would you want or need to read every tweet by every person that you follow? [url= https://twitter.com/#!/miketually ]I currently follow 1537 accounts[/url] and wouldn't dream of reading everything tweeted by every one of them. I just dip in and out and read the most recent stuff, occasionally following conversation threads back or looking directly at someone's profile to see what they've been up to.
Lists are useful when you start following lots of people. I have a hidden one called catch-up that follows 13 people whose tweets I want to see all of.
This thread looks a lot like my twitter feed.
@yeti you're fat and iDave is calling you a chubbyfunster for dropping out of mayhem #secreteaters
TSY - you have a twitter feed !
Your more famous than I gave you credit for. Sadly for you though, you will have to spend 12 hours in a van driving to the Alps with me, listening to me moan on about how I dont do Twitfacespace and still own a 15 year old mobile 🙂
I'm saving myself for an endurance trip in a van with Trimix Phil.
He's in charge of my food for the week too... apparently I'm only allowed Pizza 🙁
Trimix... I might try and get me a new phone so that I can keep people updated with all mine and your pearls of wisdom.
Dont worry about the food - we have organised a food plan and its not Pot Noodles 🙂
*Im typing this while wearing a neck brace*
Twitter and Facebook are tools and it's up to you to be creative with them. On Twitter I am learning Portuguese - there are sites that give daily language tips which are great, and newspapers give their headlines there too - so I can learn a little vocabulary each day.
On Facebook I have pages for my book and CD so this is a great way for people to find you and also interact with you too.
I am also signed up to various groups relating to what I am interested in - bike activists in Brazil and a lot of eco groups too so it is a way of catching up on their news too.
And also, Twitter every so often manages to coalesce public opinion and once in a while some positive things happen - like the support for that 9 year old girl in Scotland who was blogging about her school dinners but got censored by her local council - people on Twitter helped get that decision reversed.
So yeah, they are what you make of them.
cougar is funnier on the forum than on twitter, so no need to set up an account if you're already on here
Sorry about that, I'll try and be 20% funnier on Twitter to balance it out.
I use Twitter to follow some of the MotoGP riders and in particular Alex Briggs (Valentino Rossi's mechanic)....they are all far more candid on Twitter than they are on TV when a mic's shoved under their nose....Briggs also posts good tech updates on how they're trying to improve Rossi's bike, something the TV coverage doesnt really go into as its geek stuff i suppose....i never post myself, my life is very mundane!....i just have the Twitter feed app on my phone home screen and check through the day for what the racers are saying, it's great.
I installed the Twitter app when I first got an iPhone, then deleted it when I realised I had nothing to tweet about! I only reinstalled it after reading about a journalist posting up interesting reports from Japan about the tsunami, then found another who was following her, @andycarvin, who was doing a lot of reporting from the middle east, Syria, Egypt, Tunisia, etc. Like others here, I hardly ever post anything, and still get people following me! They must have an extraordinarily low threshold of boredom, that's all I can think. 😆
I follow Duncan Jones, @manmademoon, (geddit?), William Gibson, @GreatDismal, and various musicians and a couple of 6Music presenters, Lauren Lavern, who's really funny, and Cerys Matthews. There's one Twitter poster, SuperStripers, who just posts very funny observations, who just makes me laugh, and it's little things like that I enjoy about Twitter. I tend to follow Twitter and Facebook via Flipboard, which gives it a more immediate, magazine-like look, and means I tend to check feeds more often.
Just taken a screen grab from my Flipboard Twitter feed:
[IMG] 
[/IMG]
I thought these were amusing, Felicia Day is a singer and Neil Gaiman's partner. It's these sort of things I like reading, and earlier I discovered a new folk duo called Trwbador, from a Welsh singer-songwriter called Georgia Ruth.
I have nothing to say on there, except for the occasional reply, but I do enjoy what others have to say.