Twitter – where everybody knows your @name
I’m spending way too much time on Twitter. Right now, for example, I’m (slowly) writing this post as I’m carrying on two or three Twitter conversations (it’s hard to tell – they kind of weave in and out of each other). It has occurred to me that Twitter is a lot like Cheers. I think that, for the most part, the characters in Cheers didn’t spend time together or know each other outside the bar. Of course, the point could be made that they never left the bar except to make opportunities for a quick joke. Almost all the scenes in the series took place in the bar. All the characters knew of each other were their bar personas and very little of the rest of their lives except as it was told to us in the bar. Nonetheless, within the context of the bar, they formed a kind of quasi-community in a space that was outside the normal toil and drudgery of a real life. We never saw Sam scrub his toilet bowl at home, but I assume that he did because it’s just one of those real life things that needs to be done.
And that’s part of what I get out of Twitter (the quasi-community that is, not the toilet scrubbing) I participate so that I can hang out and relax with people who seem to have some of the same interests as I do and a similar sense of humour. Some of my community are my real life friends, but I don’t really know most of them apart from the persona they project in Twitter (and blogs if they have one). I can learn a little bit about someone when the conversation is broken into 140 character bursts, and the rest I just have to infer and create in my imagination. What amazes me is how absolutely cool my Twitter friends are – they are always witty, informative and so erudite. None of them has any sort of normal human failings – no B.O. as one of my Twitter friends has pointed out.
But at the same time I know that none of my Twitter-only friends is a friend in the same sense as someone that I have met in person, worked with or learned with or visited socially. If we met in person I’m sure I would be struck by how different they are in person. I know that we have some similar interests, etc. but they might have a completely different personality from their Twitter persona, if that makes any sense. I’m sure I’d enjoy meeting them, but I don’t know if we would have the same sort of feeling of community. That might take a while to develop. Or maybe it would be an instant community right from the start. Maybe I’d just walk in the door, everyone would turn their head and yell out “@robwall!”
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Rob,
I felt the same way about my “Twitter Friends” and then I went to to the Educon 2.0 conference and met a bunch of the people I follow on Twitter. It was incredible. They were actually as cool in person as they are on Twitter. I was not disappointed by a single person. And my Twitter experience is so much richer now that I have a live personality to associate with a small square icon. I wish you could have been there. I would have liked to meet you too.
-Liz
Liz Davis - 2008/01/31 at 17:25
Rob,
I felt the same way about my “Twitter Friends” and then I went to to the Educon 2.0 conference and met a bunch of the people I follow on Twitter. It was incredible. They were actually as cool in person as they are on Twitter. I was not disappointed by a single person. And my Twitter experience is so much richer now that I have a live personality to associate with a small square icon. I wish you could have been there. I would have liked to meet you too.
-Liz
Liz Davis - 2008/01/31 at 17:25
Just because they are “twitter” friends doesn’t mean that they couldn’t become real life friends. I have a friend from another site who I have talked to for almost 2 years. We have the same interests and have been supportive of each other through the computer. In October I went on a cruise and was able to visit her country and stopped in the city where she lives. Her and her husband met us for lunch and we spent a few hours together. We all were about the same age, same interests and got along great as if we had known each other for years. You never know when one of us might find you in the real world! LOL
Pat - 2008/01/31 at 17:32
Just because they are “twitter” friends doesn’t mean that they couldn’t become real life friends. I have a friend from another site who I have talked to for almost 2 years. We have the same interests and have been supportive of each other through the computer. In October I went on a cruise and was able to visit her country and stopped in the city where she lives. Her and her husband met us for lunch and we spent a few hours together. We all were about the same age, same interests and got along great as if we had known each other for years. You never know when one of us might find you in the real world! LOL
Pat - 2008/01/31 at 17:32
Great post, Rob. I did a little internal dance this past week when I hit 50 followers (and growing) on twitter. I was not in the popular crowd in my K-12 years and followers on Twitter, blog readers and other people in my network make me feel all warm inside.
It is interesting how I pick and choose who will be part of my network depending on the method of communication. Almost everyone I’m friends with on Facebook I’ve actually met in person, but I can only say the same with about 10 percent of the people that I follow on Twitter. I hope that will change if we can get a bunch of them to come to TLt.
Heather Ross - 2008/01/31 at 19:17
Great post, Rob. I did a little internal dance this past week when I hit 50 followers (and growing) on twitter. I was not in the popular crowd in my K-12 years and followers on Twitter, blog readers and other people in my network make me feel all warm inside.
It is interesting how I pick and choose who will be part of my network depending on the method of communication. Almost everyone I’m friends with on Facebook I’ve actually met in person, but I can only say the same with about 10 percent of the people that I follow on Twitter. I hope that will change if we can get a bunch of them to come to TLt.
Heather Ross - 2008/01/31 at 19:17
Would your RL friends stop what they’re doing at the drop of a hat just to say hi to your students? Would your RL friends give you full access to their work projects? Do you real friends tell you how smart you are every day? Do your RL friends know exactly when you need a boost and send you some affection instantly? I don’t think it’s like a bar, because it’s not outside of work. It’s during work. And home. And running errands. And attending concerts and sporting events. Your network permeates your life however and whenever you choose. We’re not going to ask you to help us move and we’re not going to show up on your doorstep when you’re in the middle of family time. We won’t talk your ear off on the phone or make you feel guilty when you miss social time to spend time with your family. We won’t ask to borrow money and we won’t borrow your tools and DVD’s and never return them. Your network is whatever you want it to be!
Jen - 2008/01/31 at 23:11
Would your RL friends stop what they’re doing at the drop of a hat just to say hi to your students? Would your RL friends give you full access to their work projects? Do you real friends tell you how smart you are every day? Do your RL friends know exactly when you need a boost and send you some affection instantly? I don’t think it’s like a bar, because it’s not outside of work. It’s during work. And home. And running errands. And attending concerts and sporting events. Your network permeates your life however and whenever you choose. We’re not going to ask you to help us move and we’re not going to show up on your doorstep when you’re in the middle of family time. We won’t talk your ear off on the phone or make you feel guilty when you miss social time to spend time with your family. We won’t ask to borrow money and we won’t borrow your tools and DVD’s and never return them. Your network is whatever you want it to be!
Jen - 2008/01/31 at 23:11
Heather – 50 is only the start. I always appreciate what you have to say – on twitter, in your blog and in person.
Liz and Pat – I’m glad you’ve had positive experiences meeting your Twitter friends in real life, and maybe started making some new friends in the process. I hope I have the same kind of experience. It would be terrific to meet you in person some time.
Jen – Well, yeah some of my friends do these things but I take your point. (And my real friends who are also in my twitter network are the ones who say hi to students or give me access to projects). Being able to choose when and how often we talk is probably a big part of the attraction of having that network of twitter friends. I think it is amazing that I can choose to have so many smart and interesting people to hang out with, and I think it is so cool that they choose to hang out with me. I understand what you mean about giving you a boost – sometimes your tweets just make my day. As with Liz and Pat, it would be terrific to meet you in person – are you *sure* you can’t make TLt? Well, maybe next year. ;^)
Rob - 2008/02/01 at 17:00
Heather – 50 is only the start. I always appreciate what you have to say – on twitter, in your blog and in person.
Liz and Pat – I’m glad you’ve had positive experiences meeting your Twitter friends in real life, and maybe started making some new friends in the process. I hope I have the same kind of experience. It would be terrific to meet you in person some time.
Jen – Well, yeah some of my friends do these things but I take your point. (And my real friends who are also in my twitter network are the ones who say hi to students or give me access to projects). Being able to choose when and how often we talk is probably a big part of the attraction of having that network of twitter friends. I think it is amazing that I can choose to have so many smart and interesting people to hang out with, and I think it is so cool that they choose to hang out with me. I understand what you mean about giving you a boost – sometimes your tweets just make my day. As with Liz and Pat, it would be terrific to meet you in person – are you *sure* you can’t make TLt? Well, maybe next year. ;^)
Rob - 2008/02/01 at 17:00
Help me Rob. I just can’t seem to get cooking with gas with the whole Twitter thing. I want to feel what I read everyone else is feeling. I am the “only girl without a date at the school dance” syndrom . . .words of wisdom please!
Angie Balkwill - 2008/02/04 at 00:14
Help me Rob. I just can’t seem to get cooking with gas with the whole Twitter thing. I want to feel what I read everyone else is feeling. I am the “only girl without a date at the school dance” syndrom . . .words of wisdom please!
Angie Balkwill - 2008/02/04 at 00:14
That depends on how far down the Twitter road you have gone. I should also add that Twitter doesn’t work for everyone. If you are interested in checking out the whole twitter-verse, start by creating an account, then selecting a few people to follow. You’re welcome to follow me – http://www.twitter.com/robwall. I don’t think you’re in my follower/ing list but I might be mistaken. Take a look at my following list on my twitter page, then pick a few of those to follow. Most people that I twitter with seem pretty good about following anyone who follows them. In no time at all, you’ll have a small network of twits. Read their comments and conversations, and start talking when you are ready.
A couple of handy things to know about twitter. Messages that start with @{username} are directed toward another user, but are publicly viewable. Messages that start with d {username} are direct messages seen by and emailed to only that user.
There is an entire wiki devoted to Twitter at http://twitter.pbwiki.com/. It is a terrific (twitterific?) resource. Have fun and enjoy the ride.
As I said, Twitter is not everyone’s cup of tea. Check it out but if it doesn’t get your interest you can just ignore it. This is good advice for any web tool. If you are interested, get an account and check it out, but don’t feel that you *have* to be twittering, wiki-ing, blogging, etc. – do what works for you. There are too many tools to try everything.
Rob - 2008/02/04 at 00:51
That depends on how far down the Twitter road you have gone. I should also add that Twitter doesn’t work for everyone. If you are interested in checking out the whole twitter-verse, start by creating an account, then selecting a few people to follow. You’re welcome to follow me – http://www.twitter.com/robwall. I don’t think you’re in my follower/ing list but I might be mistaken. Take a look at my following list on my twitter page, then pick a few of those to follow. Most people that I twitter with seem pretty good about following anyone who follows them. In no time at all, you’ll have a small network of twits. Read their comments and conversations, and start talking when you are ready.
A couple of handy things to know about twitter. Messages that start with @{username} are directed toward another user, but are publicly viewable. Messages that start with d {username} are direct messages seen by and emailed to only that user.
There is an entire wiki devoted to Twitter at http://twitter.pbwiki.com/. It is a terrific (twitterific?) resource. Have fun and enjoy the ride.
As I said, Twitter is not everyone’s cup of tea. Check it out but if it doesn’t get your interest you can just ignore it. This is good advice for any web tool. If you are interested, get an account and check it out, but don’t feel that you *have* to be twittering, wiki-ing, blogging, etc. – do what works for you. There are too many tools to try everything.
Rob - 2008/02/04 at 00:51
I am not so much concerned with the virtual bar community, as the virtual beer/wings!
Remember there is a reason some of the most interesting communities are in a setting with good food and good drink. Often this changes the nature of the community (you should see my volleyball group before, during and after) What is the food and drink of the social web?
And why is it that I have to keep buying the Timmys Rob?
Shaun Loeppky - 2008/02/04 at 18:01
I am not so much concerned with the virtual bar community, as the virtual beer/wings!
Remember there is a reason some of the most interesting communities are in a setting with good food and good drink. Often this changes the nature of the community (you should see my volleyball group before, during and after) What is the food and drink of the social web?
And why is it that I have to keep buying the Timmys Rob?
Shaun Loeppky - 2008/02/04 at 18:01
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