A Question About Twitter From A Non Tweeter

[roamingguy 300292]

OK I confess I'm dumb in this area. But what is the benefit...advantage if you will of Twitter compared to say, email or texting. From my understanding it is short little statements (Tweets) that you post for all (well those who have access to your account) to see. Maybe (well likely) there is nothing tweet worthy in my life to post about which is why I don't fully understand it. And can everyone who has a Twitter account read your tweets. If restricted to only certain people, well those people would already be contacts in my two email accounts and via pm through CERB, so I don't know about any benefit for me at least to use Twitter

I guess it is hard to understand for a guy whose text messages read like mini emails, so short posts are really hard for a guy like me to figure out

BTW this isn't a bash of any sorts against Twitter, I truly don't understand it except for what I know already, and would appreciate any insights as to it's benefits.

Thanks

RG

[Boomer 33202]

Well I maintain several account for different reasons.

 

It's not so much about what I tweet but for me it's a chance to stay up to date about what's going on out in the world. You can follow any number of tweeteres on an endless variety of interests. There is no obligation for others to follow you or for you to make tweets. As an example, I keep up events in Ottawa, the media, BNN, just to name a few.

 

I do also have a second account and follow some members of CERB, and some of the ladies. For you, there is no cost to opening an account and simply start to follow others, and when comfortable try a response. On my BB they have an app that I can switch back and forth between accounts.

[piano8950 32577]

Comparing Twitter to email or texting is like comparing sending a letter to a friend and posting an announcement on a bulletin board. The two are completely unrelated.

 

There are many uses of Twitter. The three main uses that I've seen are:

 

Personal - the type of people I want to share my life with friends, and instead of facebook updates, Twitter is now the new medium. And if you still don't get the point, think about why people blog. It's an expression of thoughts/jokes/pictures/ideas. Twitter allows that, but 140 characters and/or 1 picture/video at a time.

 

Professional - Organizations use Twitter to release information all the time. Not everything requires a press conference, but perhaps a small snippet of info that might be of interest to some of all their customers/clients.

 

There has also been a secondary use that's cropped up for this, that is being able to respond to customers requests/complaints. By allowing the company to respond with 140 characters or less, they don't need a long time to respond especially if what you're asking is simple. It's good business practice.

 

Celebrity - People buy magazines to read about the lives of their favourite actors and actresses. Twitter has given the same people to control a bit of what's going out, and using it as a self promotion.

 

 

............

 

 

Just to give you a clearer idea of why people use Twitter, some of the people I follow/used to follow:

 

Prime Minister's Office- News doesn't report everything, and some outlets have a bias. Whether it's a conservative or liberal prime minister, it's just nice to have a sense of the day to day activities of what's happening.

 

OC Transpo - I love using transit, and used it in Ottawa as much as I could. On occasion, there would be bulletins for protests, bus breakdowns, reroutes, etc. Twitter was a great way I could keep in touch with stuff like this.

 

BlackBerry/Apple/Google/Tech companies - Small announcements keeps me in touch with what's new every day

 

Town Council - There is a wealth of information that you get just from their twitter feed. I keep in touch with meetings about zoning applications, transit discussions and so much more. All this information is available in the local newspaper, but having it on Twitter allows me to control how/when/where I get this information. Newspapers are nice, but require a slower lifestyle to properly sit down and read.

 

Doctor Who - I love Doctor Who, and it's the closest thing I have to a celebrity follow. They sometimes have snippets of cool info.

 

My MP and MPP - Their office is much better at responding to tweets then emails. And I get to keep in touch with whenever something is happening locally.

[mrgreen760 37785]

I prefer twitter and have 2 accounts 1 for bus-type stuff and 1 for my alter-ego (s). I'm also someone who believes in brevity as in I don't use 100 words when 5 words will suffice so 144 character limit per tweet works well for me.

 

Peace

MG

[Malika Fantasy 144625]

I have two twitters, one personal one Malika Fantasy related.

They are mainly like status on Facebook, you posted how you are feeling, what you are currently doing etc...

 

I am actually surprise at how well use and a tool it is in this industry. I have had some people that started to follow me on their, got interested in the silly things I posted, the candid pictures...and book me only base on what they saw on there :)

[Guest realnicehat]

As piano said, Twitter is a fast and easy way for people to offer information.

 

While I can't see you (RG) posting often (twitter isn't for ramblers) you may find it fun to follow a few of your favourite SP's, news agencies, or even John Malkovich....

 

Like many, I have 2 accounts and I think I've only tweeted once. For me it is just fun to keep up with what is going on in the areas that interest me.

[roamingguy 300292]

Comparing Twitter to email or texting is like comparing sending a letter to a friend and posting an announcement on a bulletin board. The two are completely unrelated.

 

 

As I said I don't really understand it, well actually I said I was dumb on it LOL (I don't use social media, not just Twitter but also Facebook)...hence the reason for me starting this thread, just trying to educate myself, and probably others here too. And without knowing about it, all I could use for comparison is email and texting because that is what I know.

My thread was to get more educated about Twitter, it wasn't in any way shape or form a bash of it.

RG

[piano8950 32577]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I get a sense that you think I was talking down to you. I was just trying to explain the context of how it's used in with formats similar to what's been used for a very long time. No insult on my part, sorry if it came across that way.

[roamingguy 300292]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I get a sense that you think I was talking down to you. I was just trying to explain the context of how it's used in with formats similar to what's been used for a very long time. No insult on my part, sorry if it came across that way.

 

No I understood that you were explaining the context, but just trying to show I have no frame of reference to understand Twitter, hence my comparison of it to email or texting that's all.

We're good here :-)

RG

[Guest realnicehat]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I get a sense that you think I was talking down to you. I was just trying to explain the context of how it's used in with formats similar to what's been used for a very long time. No insult on my part, sorry if it came across that way.

 

No I understood that you were explaining the context, but just trying to show I have no frame of reference to understand Twitter, hence my comparison of it to email or texting that's all.

We're good here :-)

RG

 

These posts are a perfect example of why I prefer cerb. Potential differences (be they real or perceived) are clarified through communication rather than flaming and are settled just that quickly.

 

Well played gentlemen. Well played.

 

Now, back to explaining to RG why you think twitter is awesome.

[roamingguy 300292]

I'll ask another question then. Do you have to allow other Twitter users access to your account to read your Tweets, and vice versa, or if you know the member's user name (I guess that's what it's called) you can read his/her Tweets and he/her can read yours

In a roundabout way, god I'm longwinded LOL, do you have a contact list and only anyone on your contacts can see your Tweets and vice versa

Is that making sense

RG

[Boomer 33202]

It's rather simple, there are followers and followed. If you want to follow someone you ask to follow them, and they can accept them or not depending how they are set up. Most people allow this to happen aromatically. So if you have some one wanting to follow you, accept them or reject them.

[ricky1ricardo7 400]

Thanks everyone! That's all great information.

 

How do you start Twitter or how to you set up a Twitter account?

[Guest realnicehat]

Thanks everyone! That's all great information.

 

How do you start Twitter or how to you set up a Twitter account?

 

Pretty much the same way you started here. Go to the site and follow the instructions.

[Sweet Emily J 172062]

I never actually used Twitter until a few months ago. I have never had a personal account, and only have an account for my SP identity. I have found it very interesting, and more so the more I get involved in it.

 

Mostly I like to follow people who I find are interesting; politicians, activists, bloggers, environmentalists, news agencies & columnists, musicians, scientists, writers, and popular sex workers from all around the world. These kinds of people are often tweeting links to news articles, blog posts and videos that I find interesting. Or tweeting about different subjects (sometimes controversial), and inviting followers to engage in the conversation.

 

I do a bit of lighthearted personal interaction with people I know, clients and other local SPs, and sometimes I tweet pictures of myself, updates to my blog etc, but mostly the draw for me is the other stuff. Keeping up with what's going on, learning new things, finding interesting people, and sharing things that I find interesting and important.

 

I have found that it's a great way to connect with a wide variety of people, and it puts everyone on a level playing field. Everyone is on the same platform and gets the same speaking time.

 

And yes, you can make your tweets private, and only available to friends who you approve. But I think most people simply only tweet things that they don't mind being "out there" and leave the door open to a varied response. It's not for everyone, but for some it's great! :)

[Guest N***he**Ont**y]

RG I use Twitter for some interaction between some members of Cerb especially the SPs who I do see and some people both Hobbyists and SPS whom I have come to know from Cerb Chat. Its a great tool to stay in contact with your Cerbie friends. Most of my followers will attest that I Tweet a lot under my Cerbie persona but I also have a personal account that I use with those who I have become real friends with some are Cerbies and some not. I also use Twitter for news updates, weather updates and traffic updates through out Ontario as I am on the road all week locally and provincially. I follow the weather service and national net works both newspapers and tv and radio. I have made it an essential tool for my work. Come join us!

[MightyPen 67414]

The key difference RG between Twitter and e-mails or PMS is that e-mails are (generally) one-to-one, private communication. Twitter is about one-to-many, semi-public broadcasting. "Semi" public, because only the people subscribed to your feed will see what you tweet.

 

Now imagine a whole bunch of those networks intersecting (everyone you follow, to you; and then you, to everyone who follows you) and you have the Twitter universe.

 

Twitter often gets maligned as a means for boring people to share what they've just had for breakfast. But it doesn't have to be that at all. Lots of things people share on Twitter aren't about themselves specifically, but rather about something they saw that interested them -- either someone else's tweet (which you re-tweet to share with your community), or a link to something you found on the web.

 

If you're plugged via Twitter into a community of like-minded people (you following some of them, some of them following you) then Twitter gives you a means to express short ideas and impressions and share things of interest quickly and easily. You don't have to be living the life of James Bond or the Dos Equis guy in order for it to be worth people's while to follow you; just use it as a means to share stuff that interests you with a lot of your friends and acquaintances at once. If they've subscribed to your feed, then they're already interested in what you care about and have to say about stuff.

 

After all, it's a lot of those little "hey, whatcha thinking?" exchanges that cement friendships in the first place. Twitter is just another channel for the same stuff, quick and easy.

[Taylor, Olivia Devine 16934]

I also have 2 accounts on Twitter, a personal account and my alter ego TaylorDevine22, it is a great tool for me as i have clients on their that like my pictures i post, my schedule updates and i also get to read a little bit about whats on your mind :)

[gc1968 2033]

Twitter often gets maligned as a means for boring people to share what they've just had for breakfast.

 

That's pretty much exactly what I thought it was, since I saw some of the tweets my co-worker was getting when it first came out. Hence I have never bothered with it, and pretty much turned my nose up at it. Of course I had the same idea about Facebook, and resisted until a bunch of my relatives kept hounding me to sign up. I have had to delete contacts off there due to their stupid status updates every 30 seconds, but even though I rarely log in to facebook I have found I can follow my favorite bands, old friends, and relatives on there and pretty much keep the crap to a minimum. Sounds like twitter can be set up the same way. I may look into it.

[PistolPete 61421]

Those that have their twitter accounts locked you must get permission to follow them. Tweeters that have locked profiles do it for various reasons, such as ensuring the follower is human and not a hacker spreading spam therefore validation is required.

I have one account only, and it is strictly for the same purpose I'm on Cerb, chat with ladies and fellow hobbiest.

[Guest K***e D****ls]

I have no social media at all in my personal life. I'm a very private person. I have twitter for Kylie. My twitter profile is locked for a few reasons- some I've mentioned in another thread here, some reasons are personal.

 

I use my twitter for marketing. Anyone interested in following me and seeing what's going on in the life of Kylie, little thoughts, candids and sneak peeks at new pictures, etc can get a better taste of my personality through my twitter than what just my website alone offers. I don't go the interactive route with it- time restrictions and that's just not what I meant for it to be.

 

I tweet nothing about my personal life. All the travels mentioned, outings, etc are Kylie related. If it happened in my personal life, it won't ever be mentioned on my twitter.

 

I follow some incredibly witty porn stars and exotic dancers, some inspirations profiles, fitness profiles and some personal taste (truck 'porn', for example) profiles.

 

There's my twitter 2 cents! :)

 

Anyone interested in following me can find me at: https://twitter.com/VIPKylieDaniels

[roamingguy 300292]

Well I'm out, I joined Twitter

Still roamingguy

@roamingguy1

Going to be more a follower than followed there, but who knows

A rambling, or is that a tweeting LOL

 

RG

[Guest K***e D****ls]

Welcome, RG, welcome to the insanity! haha

[roamingguy 300292]

Welcome, RG, welcome to the insanity! haha

 

Thank You Kylie...but you always seem very sane, both on board, and in person. Me on the other hand...???

 

RG

[Gentleman11 10508]

If anyone wants a really good visual experience of Twitter, check out the new movie "Chef" (spring 2014). It is a heartwarming, foodie, fun irreverent film that visually explores twitter as a side note.