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FOT Community => General Discussion => Topic started by: Matthew_S on February 14, 2009, 06:23:38 PM

Title: I feel like an old man -- Twitter? Facebook friends with celebrities ??
Post by: Matthew_S on February 14, 2009, 06:23:38 PM


Can someone explain the point of Twitter to me?   Or rather, is it without point for me as I do not own a cell phone and am happy not always "being in touch".

It seems an ideal cellphone application (simple, short) but an odd one to access via actual computer...  I think I am just missing something vital to its appeal.


Related only in the sense that it also makes me feel ancient+out of touch...

why would I friend a 'celebrity' via facebook?  it serves as advertising for them, OK and ... ?

I hope this does not sound bitter or awful ; that is certainly not the intent.    And if this has been discussed here or on the show, well, I missed that too...
Title: Re: I feel like an old man -- Twitter? Facebook friends with celebrities ??
Post by: erechoveraker on February 14, 2009, 08:41:46 PM


Can someone explain the point of Twitter to me?   Or rather, is it without point for me as I do not own a cell phone and am happy not always "being in touch".

It seems an ideal cellphone application (simple, short) but an odd one to access via actual computer...  I think I am just missing something vital to its appeal.


Related only in the sense that it also makes me feel ancient+out of touch...

why would I friend a 'celebrity' via facebook?  it serves as advertising for them, OK and ... ?

I hope this does not sound bitter or awful ; that is certainly not the intent.    And if this has been discussed here or on the show, well, I missed that too...

You can access it via your phone etc though, and I think many people do. I have mine linked to my Facebook too, so I kill several pretend social stones at once with it.

140 characters is the perfect level of relationship I am willing to give most people now, so I loves it.
Title: Re: I feel like an old man -- Twitter? Facebook friends with celebrities ??
Post by: cutout on February 14, 2009, 08:43:24 PM
Quote
Can someone explain the point of Twitter to me?

It's basically texting, but public. I use it to ask questions of other web designers and vice versa. This could be done via email, but this way, it's public, and other web designers benefit (presumably) from the exchange, plus it feels "live". Other than linking to content and asking/answering questions, I doubt I'd have any use for it, as none of my normal/non-webgeek friends care about it and (rightfully) consider it kind of a waste of time. Once you're over the age of 20, unless you live in a dense urban area and are constantly on the go, there doesn't seem to be a good reason you'd ever need to keep everyone abreast of your every thought/move. And yet, people do it.
Title: Re: I feel like an old man -- Twitter? Facebook friends with celebrities ??
Post by: Regular Joe on February 14, 2009, 09:23:20 PM
What I like to do is create miniature cardboard stand-ups of all my twitter friends, then read their tweets aloud like a little play that I film with my cell phone. I know it's unorthodox, but what else am I supposed to do with web 2.0.
Title: Re: I feel like an old man -- Twitter? Facebook friends with celebrities ??
Post by: Come on, Jason on February 14, 2009, 10:55:36 PM
People too shy to Facebook famous people are missing out on some big fun.  Jon Wurster, for example, has easily the funniest Facebook page in the world. (He's the conga player for Supertramp.)
Title: Re: I feel like an old man -- Twitter? Facebook friends with celebrities ??
Post by: Sarah on February 15, 2009, 08:33:12 AM
I think it's dumb, but then I'm old, ornery, and antisocial.
Title: Re: I feel like an old man -- Twitter? Facebook friends with celebrities ??
Post by: Fido on February 15, 2009, 11:48:06 AM
I think it's dumb, but then I'm old, ornery, and antisocial.

I react pretty much the same way, because I too am old, ornery and antisocial. But for the same reason that I like to stay on speaking terms with distant, right-wing fundamentalist Christian relatives (I'm curious as to what I will see or hear), I like to participate in silly things like Twitter. I just have to see what all the fuss is about. Usually, I become dismayed at how interesting I find the latest silly little social networking trend. I've even gone so far as to post on my Facebook page what I am indeed doing at that moment, like "Chris is making squirrel tacos! Yum! You can come on over anytime, Sarah!". When I wall myself off from the zeitgeist altogether, I think that's when my trouble will begin. I don't know that this is right or wrong.
Title: Re: I feel like an old man -- Twitter? Facebook friends with celebrities ??
Post by: yesno on February 15, 2009, 12:31:50 PM
My usual routine is to sign up for all these things early on (my very first Twitter account was in 2007!  eons ago!  It lasted 1 day) and then delete my account.  Then I do that a couple of more times.

I don't know, I enjoy this and a few other messageboards but I just don't get much out of social networking sites generally.  They're good at filling down time, and they're addictive, but those are bad things.  I should be working.  If I want to socialize I should do it with "meat men" or "walkies" (real people).

There's also an aspect to using them of peacocking ("look how funny/unique/interesting I am") which is kind of fun but which turns me off when I find myself doing it.  It's like a new version of being the class clown or drawing band logos on your textbook cover.

People in my law school communicate pretty much exclusively through Facebook, so it's not like I have an option to not be on some of these things at all.  I am also writing a paper for a conference about some privacy/information control aspects of social networking. I believe I shall omit my belief that all this crap is mostly a waste of time, though sometimes a fun one.
Title: Re: I feel like an old man -- Twitter? Facebook friends with celebrities ??
Post by: Andy on February 15, 2009, 12:44:15 PM
facebook is fading fast and I can't get on board with twittering.  I knew facebook was done when they were talking about it on the today show.  plus, notes have turned into bulletins and it's just like myspace now.
Title: Re: I feel like an old man -- Twitter? Facebook friends with celebrities ??
Post by: erechoveraker on February 15, 2009, 04:45:40 PM
plus, notes have turned into bulletins and it's just like myspace now.

This.

All the people who got me off myspace onto facebook who said they couldn't take all the inanity of myspace are suddenly tagging me on facebook with "25 things about you" bulletins, err I mean notes. Next time I get one, I'm just gonna reply with pics of goatse or something, and let the housecleaning take care of itself.

Title: Re: I feel like an old man -- Twitter? Facebook friends with celebrities ??
Post by: yesno on February 15, 2009, 04:55:54 PM
We'll see if FB and Twitter can keep growing forever without making a profit.  Successful internet "communities" (what a misuse of the word) tend to be labors of love pushed by volunteers.  I don't think many people would want to volunteer for an enterprise whose guiding purpose is mining people's personal lives for marketing information.
Title: Re: I feel like an old man -- Twitter? Facebook friends with celebrities ??
Post by: Martin on February 15, 2009, 04:57:17 PM
You're right, Facebook is exactly like MySpace. Honestly, I can't tell the difference between the two.
Title: Re: I feel like an old man -- Twitter? Facebook friends with celebrities ??
Post by: DoodleJump! on February 15, 2009, 09:25:38 PM
so is Twitter supposed to be like a chat? Or just a continual status update? Because I just got a Twitter and I feel guilty for "replying" to someone else' because I get this weird fear that I'm annoying them. And I would like to talk to them, but am not sure if that is what Twitter is "meant" for. I have a feeling that I will continue with this for a month or less, then give up completely.
Title: Re: I feel like an old man -- Twitter? Facebook friends with celebrities ??
Post by: TacoSmith on February 16, 2009, 11:45:28 PM
The best thing about twitter is knowing what ?uestlove is doing every second of the day.
Title: Re: I feel like an old man -- Twitter? Facebook friends with celebrities ??
Post by: Gilly on February 17, 2009, 12:21:44 AM
I think I've said it before here, but Facebook and Twitter are what you want to make them to be. It's easy to ignore things you don't like and it's easy to get really involved and figure out the other people who want the same thing. If you can't fall in line with either of those options, social networking probably isn't for you. But, I'm assuming anybody who frequents a forum knows how to filter. I think people just like to complain about popular things.
Title: Re: I feel like an old man -- Twitter? Facebook friends with celebrities ??
Post by: Andy on February 17, 2009, 07:03:27 AM
I getting ready to dump a couple of facebook friends that I've known since kindegarten.  they seem to think every video on youtube is worthy of posting.  angry video game nerd?  post them all.  mike tyson's greatest one hit ko's?  post that shit.
Title: Re: I feel like an old man -- Twitter? Facebook friends with celebrities ??
Post by: iAmBaronVonTito on February 17, 2009, 11:46:36 AM
dump them.  just dont dump me.
Title: Re: I feel like an old man -- Twitter? Facebook friends with celebrities ??
Post by: ericluxury on February 17, 2009, 12:29:48 PM
The Facebook or not debate has gone on a number of times on this board, but I have a new reason to be distrustful of it.
A bunch of my friends have had their relationships undermined (or their dignity post-breakup undermined) by the way information flows through these things. I know people were at times mistrustful in the age before social networking but a constant flow of information had unlocked the ability to track people and I think that has some pretty horrible implications when it comes to dating. People when they hear that think stalking but more common is just the way it fosters obsession and allows people to not get over things easily. Thankfully, the lady I am seeing isn't on any social networks. I am glad.

That said, twitter is great because its doesn't have most of those features.
Title: Re: I feel like an old man -- Twitter? Facebook friends with celebrities ??
Post by: Matthew_S on April 06, 2009, 12:19:27 PM
Hmm.  anyone using this:

http://monitter.com/
Title: Re: I feel like an old man -- Twitter? Facebook friends with celebrities ??
Post by: hugman on April 06, 2009, 01:11:37 PM
so is Twitter supposed to be like a chat? Or just a continual status update? Because I just got a Twitter and I feel guilty for "replying" to someone else' because I get this weird fear that I'm annoying them. And I would like to talk to them, but am not sure if that is what Twitter is "meant" for. I have a feeling that I will continue with this for a month or less, then give up completely.

Like gilly said, you get what you want out of it, but to answer your question, yes, ideally it's a CONVERSATION.
Title: Re: I feel like an old man -- Twitter? Facebook friends with celebrities ??
Post by: Julie on April 06, 2009, 01:13:17 PM
I just dumped all of the high school friends who came out of the woodwork from facebook when one of them posted some kind of neo-nazi sounding bullshit. And I was tired of Missy the Martyr, who always "really needs a drink" and has to tell the world. And I remember why I didn't keep in touch with them. Now I'm working up the courage to dump the a few other people, like the girl who I thought was my friend but who slept on a couch with my husband the night I moved out. And most of my family. I want to dump them, too.
Title: Re: I feel like an old man -- Twitter? Facebook friends with celebrities ??
Post by: iAmBaronVonTito on April 06, 2009, 01:52:49 PM
oddly, my mother's friends have wanted to add me on facebook.  when she told she was getting a facebook account herself, i told her not to add me, admitting i just cant deal with my mom being "my friend" online. 

julie, you can sleep on my couch anytime.
Title: Re: I feel like an old man -- Twitter? Facebook friends with celebrities ??
Post by: Julie on April 06, 2009, 02:04:54 PM
Thank you, Ma'am! And you can sleep on my couch!

The family problem is that I want to keep one of my brothers as a friend because he has a similar bad sense of humor. The rest of them can pick up the phone and call me if they want to really be in touch. But they don't and so it's kind of irritating to see them on facebook. You did the right thing by saying no.
Title: Re: I feel like an old man -- Twitter? Facebook friends with celebrities ??
Post by: Pastor Josh on April 07, 2009, 02:30:51 PM
When I was in college, an RA keyed into my room and threw away an anti-religion t-shirt I owned that offended her.  She is now on Facebook, and every couple of months or so I get a friend request from her.  I'm not still angry or bitter about the shirt.  But we weren;t friends then.  Our sole interaction was something that should have gotten her fired.  Why on earth would I want to be her friend now?
Title: Re: I feel like an old man -- Twitter? Facebook friends with celebrities ??
Post by: Martin on April 07, 2009, 02:33:29 PM
I deleted my last.fm account yesterday, it felt great! I think LinkedIn is up next. What a snooze that is!

Facebook and twitter still going strong.
Title: Re: I feel like an old man -- Twitter? Facebook friends with celebrities ??
Post by: Chris L on April 07, 2009, 02:36:08 PM
When I was in college, an RA keyed into my room and threw away an anti-religion t-shirt I owned that offended her.

I'm beginning to think Pastor Josh is Bill Maher.
Title: Re: I feel like an old man -- Twitter? Facebook friends with celebrities ??
Post by: Pastor Josh on April 07, 2009, 02:42:52 PM
When I was in college, an RA keyed into my room and threw away an anti-religion t-shirt I owned that offended her.

I'm beginning to think Pastor Josh is Bill Maher.

Now my cover is blown.  Darn.