2πr (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} twopiearr) wrote,@ 2007-11-28 08:20:00 |
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Here's What's Up With The Twitter Hate
I'm not a fan of Twitter, but I've felt no reason to antagonize others for using it. That said, a few people on my flist have become great fans of Twitter, and have more than once posted "what's up with the Twitter hate?" to their journal (often via the Twitter recap they automatically make daily). I don't make a habit of telling people what they should or shouldn't put in their journals, but in deference to the recurring question, this post is an attempt to give at least my own perspective on where it comes from, and is not an admonishment aimed at any one person. If you don't wanna read it, don't click this.
Twitter is, from the look of it, insanely useful for anyone with some sort of mobile device that has a perpetual connection to the Internet, or at least enough of one to access Twitter with ease. I say "from the look of it" because such devices aren't cheap; they cost a minimum of $150 to purchase (and usually only that cheap after mail in rebate with a 2 year plan commitment) and require a monthly plan of at least $40 - the real fiscal impact of which becomes $50 or more after the various taxes and fees are assessed, and that even assumes you have good credit and as such don't have to pay a hefty deposit and get the best rate. It is, at this point, reasonable to assume access to a personal computer with an Internet connection for anyone in at least the lower middle class and above; it's going to be a good 5-10 years at least before that assumption holds for mobile devices.
So if you're not willing and/or don't have a reason to drop $600+ a year plus the cost of equipment, Twitter starts to look like a very expensive in-joke. This is especially true given the nature of the posts, which are one-sided responses to an ongoing conversation. Imagine going to lunch with someone and then having to wait while they took a personal call, and only being able to hear their side of the conversation; that's sort of what reading a Twitter recap is for those of us not in that person's Twitter loop.
But it's no worse than people who post memes or quizzes
Well, that's not exactly true. The main objection non-Twitter people have to Twitter posts is the lack of context. A quiz is usually put behind a cut; a meme has enough context that you can determine at a glance what it's about. A twitter post usually contains 6-10 "@bob: LOL" style lines, along with another handful of you-had-to-be-there event reports - if you aren't intimately wrapped up in that particular moment, it's a complete WTF on a level that a meme or a quiz never is.
But even disregarding that, if you're saying "it's no worse than," your defense already admits that you're part of the problem. Even if the factory is dumping biodegradable waste into the local lake instead of toxic sludge, you don't want to swim in it.
I'm only posting this here so that I can have a record of what I wrote
Which makes perfect sense, but here's the thing: by definition of putting your journal in a public place and inviting people to read it, what you post will have an impact on other people. I like the metaphor of a party very much, because in a lot of ways LJ combines the best features of the intellectual salons of the Enlightenment. But if you do something at a party you're hosting that a lot of people don't like? They may leave the party. You then have to weigh whether the thing that you're doing is more important than the people leaving the party.
A suggestion: If it's purely for your own records, why not post the Twitter log to private entries and/or a filter that the general populace of your flist isn't on? It looks transparent to you when you go over your entries, but those who aren't in on the joke don't have to deal, and you don't have to deal with the resulting hate, while the party otherwise goes on. Win-win, from where I'm sitting.
It's my journal, damnit, and I can post whatever I want!
Which is a point I'll never argue. But if you're someone who built a reputation as posting thought-provoking entries on life, the universe, and everything, and are now only posting one side of a global telephone call for which I'm not on the party line…well, can you really not expect me to feel a little cheated?
Hey, I do post lots of other content, the Twitter is just one short post once a day!
Excellent! That's really what LJ is about, near as I can figure. But again, does the Twitter stuff necessarily belong in the general public of your journal? I ask this not because there's anything wrong with it, but because the inherent nature of it is so decontextualized, even for other Twitter users who aren't in your particular loop.
Your online life isn't my responsibility - why should I change to suit you?
I'm not asking you to. I'm just noting that there are consequences to any action, and unless and until Twitter becomes useful to a larger critical mass, posting Twitter to your journal is going to cause drama. That's not a threat, that's an observation of the consequence. Whether it's worth it is your call, and I imagine that everyone is going to have a different answer to that question.
I'm not a fan of Twitter, but I've felt no reason to antagonize others for using it. That said, a few people on my flist have become great fans of Twitter, and have more than once posted "what's up with the Twitter hate?" to their journal (often via the Twitter recap they automatically make daily). I don't make a habit of telling people what they should or shouldn't put in their journals, but in deference to the recurring question, this post is an attempt to give at least my own perspective on where it comes from, and is not an admonishment aimed at any one person. If you don't wanna read it, don't click this.
Twitter is, from the look of it, insanely useful for anyone with some sort of mobile device that has a perpetual connection to the Internet, or at least enough of one to access Twitter with ease. I say "from the look of it" because such devices aren't cheap; they cost a minimum of $150 to purchase (and usually only that cheap after mail in rebate with a 2 year plan commitment) and require a monthly plan of at least $40 - the real fiscal impact of which becomes $50 or more after the various taxes and fees are assessed, and that even assumes you have good credit and as such don't have to pay a hefty deposit and get the best rate. It is, at this point, reasonable to assume access to a personal computer with an Internet connection for anyone in at least the lower middle class and above; it's going to be a good 5-10 years at least before that assumption holds for mobile devices.
So if you're not willing and/or don't have a reason to drop $600+ a year plus the cost of equipment, Twitter starts to look like a very expensive in-joke. This is especially true given the nature of the posts, which are one-sided responses to an ongoing conversation. Imagine going to lunch with someone and then having to wait while they took a personal call, and only being able to hear their side of the conversation; that's sort of what reading a Twitter recap is for those of us not in that person's Twitter loop.
But it's no worse than people who post memes or quizzes
Well, that's not exactly true. The main objection non-Twitter people have to Twitter posts is the lack of context. A quiz is usually put behind a cut; a meme has enough context that you can determine at a glance what it's about. A twitter post usually contains 6-10 "@bob: LOL" style lines, along with another handful of you-had-to-be-there event reports - if you aren't intimately wrapped up in that particular moment, it's a complete WTF on a level that a meme or a quiz never is.
But even disregarding that, if you're saying "it's no worse than," your defense already admits that you're part of the problem. Even if the factory is dumping biodegradable waste into the local lake instead of toxic sludge, you don't want to swim in it.
I'm only posting this here so that I can have a record of what I wrote
Which makes perfect sense, but here's the thing: by definition of putting your journal in a public place and inviting people to read it, what you post will have an impact on other people. I like the metaphor of a party very much, because in a lot of ways LJ combines the best features of the intellectual salons of the Enlightenment. But if you do something at a party you're hosting that a lot of people don't like? They may leave the party. You then have to weigh whether the thing that you're doing is more important than the people leaving the party.
A suggestion: If it's purely for your own records, why not post the Twitter log to private entries and/or a filter that the general populace of your flist isn't on? It looks transparent to you when you go over your entries, but those who aren't in on the joke don't have to deal, and you don't have to deal with the resulting hate, while the party otherwise goes on. Win-win, from where I'm sitting.
It's my journal, damnit, and I can post whatever I want!
Which is a point I'll never argue. But if you're someone who built a reputation as posting thought-provoking entries on life, the universe, and everything, and are now only posting one side of a global telephone call for which I'm not on the party line…well, can you really not expect me to feel a little cheated?
Hey, I do post lots of other content, the Twitter is just one short post once a day!
Excellent! That's really what LJ is about, near as I can figure. But again, does the Twitter stuff necessarily belong in the general public of your journal? I ask this not because there's anything wrong with it, but because the inherent nature of it is so decontextualized, even for other Twitter users who aren't in your particular loop.
Your online life isn't my responsibility - why should I change to suit you?
I'm not asking you to. I'm just noting that there are consequences to any action, and unless and until Twitter becomes useful to a larger critical mass, posting Twitter to your journal is going to cause drama. That's not a threat, that's an observation of the consequence. Whether it's worth it is your call, and I imagine that everyone is going to have a different answer to that question.
