My twittering colleague
Comic relief is all the more enjoyable when it arrives in the midst of critical mass.
That pretty much describes my encounter with Brian Lilley’s piece on Twitter.
In the old days (like last year), I would attend an event or watch Parliament, record what happened, sort out what was new, what was old, what people needed to hear or wanted to hear and report on the event. Now reporters need to not only file their stories each day, they have to update the stories on the web as the day goes on. Then they have to blog about the stories and about their day, and as each new event happens, you must of course, Tweet.
What timing. Just today, a good friend who is editor of a sizeable newspaper emailed the simple one line question of whether or not I Twitter (she’s doing a survey, admitting she does)(Twitter).
The first time I even heard the word was when radio show host Hugh Hewitt strongly urged the practice, saying he couldn’t imagine why radio show hosts would not Twitter! It was effusive enough to capture my attention, so I promptly sent my co-host and producer a message saying we should check this out.
None of us had time. We sort of looked at it quickly, and thought….later.
Since then, Twitter and Tweet have become common vocabulary in daily media reporting, to the point where I’m not only feeling far behind by not having a Blackberry (that felt like a confession), but dare I admit this is yet another frontier I haven’t crossed? This daring investigative journalist who shrinks from no challenge, who was nearly one of the first women sports reporters on television (if not for a newsroom manager who wanted me in news) and burned to be what Christiane Amanpour would only later become, before anyone in the world ever heard of Christiane Amanpour…..?
No, Joyce, I presently do not Twitter. By the way, refresh my memory. What is Twitter again?
Well, for the benefit of you, and Michael Cook who says he’s unsure of how it all works (Michael is so far behind me here, by like three days), here is a quick run down.
Michael is behind no one on anything I’ve encountered yet, but I trust that by the time of this post, he’ll be fully up to speed.
Blogs have been around long enough for most people to know what they are, a sort of web based diary that you can use to post random thoughts, full articles, rants or whatever you like.
Okay. For some of us, the blog can be an actual venue for serious journalism, reporting and analysis not all that prevalent (or even present)Â in the big, elite media. Some of us are grinding out the work here that they don’t bother to do there anymore. But that leaves precious little time for things like social networking.
Twitter takes the social aspect of Facebook, adds the short sentences of cell phone text messaging, and puts them together.
To form….what?
With Twitter you have 140 characters to express a thought. That’s it. Hv u cn txt talk it’s like that….translation? – have you seen text talk, it’s like that. Some can form a cohesive thought without resorting to abbreviations, others cannot…Obviously, Twitter is not a vehicle for great literature.
To say the least. Without abbreviation.Â
Once you are on, you decide who to follow and others can choose to follow you. The number of people following you and how many you are following, is posted right there for all to see. It can be a bit like high school; it is teen peer pressure brought to the adult world.
Okay…friends, business associates, celebrities….you follow any or all categories. But my perennial question is….wherever do you find the time?!
Right now, I’m behind deadline on a story for MercatorNet on evolution….for crying out loud. And you’re already on the next thing in human communications technology.
Creation is an amazing thing.
0 Comment
This post brought me comic relief amidst much work as well! I must say I’m on Twitter (that felt like a confession for me), and I don’t have the time for it…thus it gets neglected all the time. It’s a good venue though to reach people, and hear what people in the world are saying about all too important issues. But with all the work that needs to be done, how do people find the time to use it? I’m with you there on that question.
I am very proud to say that I am not, and never will be, on Facebook, Blackberry, or Twitter.
Sheila, I support you 100% if you choose to remain with me in the tweet free majority. 🙂
Thank you, that’s my plan for now.
Y’know, Shelia, the majority of people responded to my survey saying the same thing you did, that they didn’t have time to keep up. And yet, people around the world are joining Twitter by the masses. It has seen something like a 300 percent increase in use since it started.
Admittedly, there were only about two under 30 in that group and they both Twitter.
To me, as a newer user, it seems like an evolution of Facebook. Social networking, according to the BBC story today, is replacing e-mail with some.
It’s funny because I find I communicate with different groups of friends differently. There are those I only e-mail. Those I only Facebook. Those I text. Those who I call (yikes, the phone?!?)
I can’t quite get a handle on where all of this is going, but it is influential. And yes, it does need ethics applied, as does blogging. Sources should be cited and verified. Rants should be controlled or at least not mean.
The power of media is strong. Where do we go from here?
Last things first…we haven’t a clue. Did anybody see Twitter coming? This is exponentially growing beyond our imagination.
Yes, it’s all very influential since we are a communications culture that seems to be constantly and globally connected (wired, seems more accurage).
Ethics and self-control and civil discourse…yes!!
Here’s the BBC piece for those who missed it:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7942304.stm
Interesting BBC article…I was just telling my mom how annoyed I am with Facebook, for the very reason that it’s replacing email! It’s a nice tool to stay connected, share pictures, and leave quick little messages, but I would much rather people email me than Facebook me (or better yet, please do call!). Furthermore, my profile on these sites is very bare as I often ask, why did we stop asking people what their hobbies and interests were, and resort to learning about each other via a computer screen?
Admitedly, I am under 30 and I belong to both Facebook and Twitter. And while I do use them for various reasons, and do think they can have a good place in the technological world, I agree with the need for ethics and self-control and civil discourse. They are such new tools, I’m not sure we fully comprehend what place they should have in our technological connectedness. It’s a jungle in these sites, I fear people have no idea how deep in the marsh we are getting ourselves if we don’t pay attention!
Just last night some friends and I were discussing what could possibly come next. Who did see Twitter coming? And what will our children be using to connect to their friends?
Actually, I now have a Twitter feed. Beautiful colours. Lots of columns. Everything that opens and shuts. Don’t know how to use it. Why do people invent things like this?
I knew it. Within two days after the original piece, Michael Cook is on Twitter. And not only that, he has a deeper appreciation for it than anybody else using it.
I feel so behind…
(Question: Michael, what are you going to do with it?)