The only person I know who'd really want to get Twitters from me would be

[pnwmom]

my elderly mother.

If you're not a publicity hound, what is the point? Who cares what you're doing from minute to minute in your day?

[polichick]

1. Really, who gives a shit what everyone else is doing all day?!

[pnwmom]

2. Maybe other 13 year olds? n/t

[Lex]

3. I guess that you don't think people here care what you have to say?

What's the point of posting here then?

:shrug:

[polichick]

6. If people here started posting about their minute-to-minute activities, they'd be tombstoned...

...hopefully.

[Lex]

8. LOL--ever look at the Lounge?

nt

[polichick]

9. Actually I never have - is it that bad??

[ornotna]

31. Oh please

Been here since '07 and never been to the Lounge. You're kidding right.

:shrug:

[polichick]

33. I don't think so - is there a way to search?? Sometimes I'll click on...

...a "Latest Discussion Thread" without paying attention to the forum ~ that's how I've ended up in "guns."

But I can say for certain that I've never chosen to go there on purpose ~ haven't been to most of the topic forums either. I mostly post in GDP because I like controversy.

[ornotna]

36. Ask and ye shall receive

Just one small sample.

Welcome to the Lounge. :hi:



http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=105&topic_id=8368040#8368046

[polichick]

38. Thanks! "DNA test Trig and Tripp now!!!!!" Such a lofty subject. :)

[pnwmom]

10. I don't think people here care about what I'm DOING minute by minute

during the day.

Twitter's full of messages about where people are, what they're doing, etc.

[Lex]

11. I guess the people I choose to follow aren't that insipid.

But that's all up to who/which friends you choose to follow.

[pnwmom]

16. I haven't been following anyone on Twitter. I barely use my cell phone. n/t

[NightWatcher]

4. plus, talk about a nation of follower lemmings

ooh ooh what did Ashton Kutcher have for lunch???????

I give a shit

[NYCGirl]

5. Here's the point:

http://www.suntimes.com/business/1532392,ihnatko-oprah-twitter-041709.article

http://www.howcast.com/videos/149055-How-To-Use-Twitter


And how, other than the length of text, is it any different than caring what anyone posts here?

[pnwmom]

12. Because here we're posting, for the most part, either about public events

or opinions about issues. Posting here is like posting unedited "letters to the editor."

Twitter is full of people telling each other what they had for breakfast.

[Lex]

14. You are wrong about Twitter. It is full of Tweets about public events & opinions.

I don't think you have good information on how Twitter is used, except maybe by teens or insipid idiots.

[NYCGirl]

17. You can post ANYTHING YOU WANT. I get more news from Twitter than

I do here. You can post links. You can follow people you find interesting. The people I'm following rarely post about what they're doing at the moment (unless it's something funny or interesting like John Hodgman, John Cleese or Stephen Fry).

[pnwmom]

25. Okay. I was going by what Twitter says about Twitter.

I guess some people have found better things to do than this:

"Twitter is a free service that lets you keep in touch with people through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing? "

[NYCGirl]

29. Yes, we've gone way beyond that. No one will kick you off for posting news

or saying something funny or informative.

[Lex]

7. Looking over a list of OPs in the Lounge & GD all look like Tweets

if Twitter were used instead of DU.

If you ever read over the list of OPs in a forum here before responding, then that's like looking at Tweets from your friends.

[Goblinmonger]

13. You do get the irony of this, right?

You are descrying Twitter, but post your thoughts on Twitter on this forum for all to see and respond to. Kind of funny. I know, I know you aren't giving us a play-by-play of your life, but it is still the supposition that what you have to say is of import to the world.

Twitter has it's place. I follow Lance Armstrong and it is interesting to see what he is doing daily for training and what he is thinking. Some of his posts are stupid. I knew about his broken collarbone pretty shortly after it happened. To me, that's cool.

I, personally, use it for teaching. I have about 40 of my students following me right now and I send out reminders of assignments/readings coming due, when I post grades, announcements I want to make to the class, when I post things to my blog (copies of handouts, etc). It is great technology for that.

[pnwmom]

15. Posting here is like writing a letter to the editor, or a piece for the opinion page.

Posting on Twitter is like sending your diary out to the world.

[Lex]

19. You just admitted you don't use Twitter

and I'd dearly love to think that posting here is like writing a letter to the editor or an opinion piece. Maybe occasionally that good. Most stuff here is venting and opinions about Tweety or freepers, etc. Barely different than Tweets.

[pnwmom]

20. I read Twitter's explanation of what Twitter is, and that's how I formed my opinion.

To wit:

"Twitter is a free service that lets you keep in touch with people through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?"

[Goblinmonger]

32. That is just perspective.

You're letter to the editor was basically "twitter sucks." That's hardly earth shattering analysis.

It just seems like people that argue against Facebook. Sure there are some stupid people posting stupid shit. Don't follow them (or be friends with them). I don't understand why that is an argument against the technology. Because of Facebook, I have rekindled friendships from decades ago. Twitter has helped me keep track of how my best friend from college is doing at the national college forensics tournament this week. I got election results as soon as they were called from my local newspaper. I learn about accidents and shootings in my region from the newspaper. I followed Jim Gaffigan for a bit but his tweets were stupid so I stopped following him.

If you don't like it, don't do it. Why is it such a threat to people?

[pnwmom]

40. The main reason I doubt that I'll ever want Twitter

is that it's pushed at the recipients -- like mass mailings of junk or spam -- rather than a site people go to when they choose.

I've already gave up checking one email account because it was 99% junk. Why would I want even more mass mailings?

The purpose of this OP though was to get more information -- I couldn't understand why anyone intelligent would want to use Twitter the way Twitter says they do. And I got some answers, from people who chose to read DU and to answer me. But I wouldn't have wanted to spam this question out to clutter up my friends/acquaintances phones.

[polichick]

18. The idea of "followers" is a bit too much like middle school imo...

Maybe it's the lingo that made me write it off without much consideration.

[pnwmom]

22. Or maybe you read Twitter's homepage, which says:

"Twitter is a free service that lets you keep in touch with people through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing? "

(The answer being, of course, who the hell cares?)

[polichick]

24. "What are you doing?" - I did read that. *groan*

[Bill McBlueState]

34. I know that's how Twitter describes itself,

but still, that's a pretty narrow take on what people are actually doing with it.

I often use it to post links to interesting stuff I'm reading. Here's a post I made this morning that some of my readers appreciated:

Good analysis of how people are trained for astronomy careers: "Training the Next Generation of Astronomers" http://arxiv.org/abs/0904.2571

[NYCGirl]

23. Would it be any different if they were called "readers"? Because that's what

they are.

[polichick]

26. That, and they need to change that first page. (see #22)

[Warpy]

21. The only time I've looked at it

was for English postings in some disaster here or there.

Otherwise, it's for people who text bumper stickers to each other and kids who think walking to class with that hot guy/girl is momentous news.

It's a perfect format for Republicans, pretty much, people who don't post coherent thoughts, only one liners.

[NYCGirl]

28. I follow such prominent republicans as Rachel Maddow, Al Gore, Crooks and

Liars, Think Progress, AlterNet...

[Lex]

37. Must be why Rachel Maddow uses it then.

nt

[pnwmom]

41. She uses it because she's a public figure, and any publicity is good

for public figures.

[Lex]

45. well, of course, but she has intelligent things to say

which is why I read her

[krabigirl]

27. I just look at it as a mini-blog. I don't use Twitter anymore though. My life is too boring!

Who the heck would want to read about the day-to-day life of a stay-at-home mom?

[pnwmom]

30. Other than your own mom, you mean? n/t

[Bill McBlueState]

35. re: your elderly mother

I frequently post about what my two-year-old is doing. Her grandparents really appreciate that, since otherwise, they'd only get a ~weekly summary by phone. So it's a convenient way to maintain family ties, as you allude.

[pnwmom]

43. My mother would be loathe to give up her daily phone calls.

I'm sure she would like Twitter, too, however.

[Brazenly Liberal]

39. Twitter is what you make of it. For me, it means getting my family back in my day to day life.

True, some people do use it as publicity hounds, but any tool can be used venally by venal people.

Regardless of what Twitter thinks it is, the public has gotten hold of it and made it more.

I have 2 Twitter accts. One is public and I mostly use it out of curiosity. (Mainly, I'm curious as to why 15 people I've never heard of - several of them avowed conservatives - are following me even though I rarely tweet anything and never tweet anything important.)

But I also have a private Twitter acct that only my family can read. My husband and I live on a farm in the middle of nowhere. The rellies are in other cities, mostly in other states. I only see them in person once or twice a year. I set up the Twitter as a "Hey, I'm alive and okay" kind of thing. And it's had a wonderful side effect. My nieces and nephews who live hundreds and thousands of miles away tweet things like "went to the mall. bought the coolest tink shirt" or "srsly considering nursing school". Now, I know that probably sounds like trivial boring shit to most people here, but to me it sounds like being able to have the kind of daily give and take that used to only be possible when they lived next door. Things that are not big enough to call about or write a letter, but are the small details that bind families, are back in our lives together. My brother takes his camera phone with him everywhere and puts up pics in real time when he's doing something we'd find interesting. I wouldn't give it up for anything.

[pnwmom]

44. Thanks for the clear explanation. I didn't know you could

have private accounts for extended families. That makes sense.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

42. I twitter my blog updates

But not my life.