I just received an email from Angsuman asking me to join Twitter. I have been thinking about starting a Twitter account for quite some time, but I always wind up back at the same question. “Why do I want a Twitter account?” I have read almost every blog post and review that has been published about Twitter, but I still can’t think of any practical use for the service.
I could use Twitter to keep people up-to-date on what I’m doing every minute of the day, but who would want to read that? I could use it to announce Frost updates or post little tidbits of information that I think I are worth sharing, but wouldn’t I post those to my blog too? I could use it to share information when I’m away from a computer (you can post to your Twitter account from your cell phone), but if it’s really worth sharing, couldn’t I just wait until I’m near a computer to write a blog post? I could use it to post “nonsense items” which aren’t necessarily worthy of a blog post, but why would I bother to post those in the first place?
I already have this blog, my photos on Zooomr, my bookmarks on del.icio.us, a Newsvine Column, and an IconBuffet Profile. Do I really need to join another social network?
With that said, I’d like to ask you, my kind readers, to answer this question. Why would I want to have a Twitter account?
5 responses
To be cool like everyone else. 😀 Honestly, I signed up to see what it was all about and don’t really get it. I’ll twitter something randomally, but not often.
Yes, “to be cool like everyone else” is the biggest motivator for me so far, and it’s not nearly strong enough to convince me to start “twittering” now. The Twitter pros are twittering almost every hour, but I doubt that I would even come close to that. My Twitter account would probably disappear into obscurity within a month, if not sooner.
Yeah, I jumped on the bandwagon and gave Twitter a shot (’cause I like to think I’m cool and all that)… I found that while the concept is interesting, it’s just not practical for my routine.
To have to stop and think about what I’m doing (or about to do), open some client, compose the thought in a coherent 140 characters or less (tough for me), send it off for really no one to see – unless I’m being followed, and then get back to the business of what I was about to do is WAY too distracting for me. I’ve spent 15 minutes tweeting about a task that only took 10 to complete.
I’ll probably only use the service if a collaborative project calls for it. But then, that’s what IM is for, isn’t it?
I agree, it’s just not practical for me. I guess that Twitter was designed to be less distracting than a blog, but it’s really yet-another communication tool to be used in addition to your blog, which means that it’s still a distraction, no matter how simple it is. If I ever feel the need to post a random-ish thought, I think I’d rather take the few extra minutes to write a blog post.
As for collaborative projects, I prefer email, but I can see Twitter being used as for something like off-site status updates when your client’s websites (and consequently their email addresses) go offline.
[…] too long ago, I asked, “To Twitter, or not to Twitter?” Today, I have decided not to Twitter, but I have not given up on micro-blogging. Thanks to […]