All a-Twitter
There's a relatively new technology called Twitter. It is basically like blogging for txt messaging. Here's how it works:
I go to the Twitter site. I set up a free account with them - giving them my email, IM and phone number. Then I look around for people I know who also use the service. (I'll cover the reality of that later.) I find Susie. Oh, I know Susie. I click the link to "follow" Susie. So anytime Susie sends a txt message to "Twitter" I (and all the other people following Susie) receive that message. I can choose to get it through txt on my phone, to my IM account or just let it pile up in my Twitter "inbox." (It's not really an inbox, but I'll call it that for clarity's sake.) Sounds simple, right? It is.
But there are a couple of things that bother me. I don't know if you can stop people from "following" you. So Susie may have a ton of random strangers who have decided to get her updates. Susie sends out the message "Wanna see Grease at AMC tonight at 7:30?" On the one hand, that's great. She just told all her friends that they can meet her at the movies tonight. The more the merrier! On the other hand, complete strangers may show up looking for Susie or even worse, know that she's not home and break into her house. Great, the more the scarier.
Naturally, I don't know anyone using this service yet. So who could I "follow" to get a feel for how it works? I am following pseudo celebrities from the technology world - people who podcast about technology for a living. I have a feel for their personalities because I listen to their podcasts basically everyday. And now I get updates about what they're eating while I'm in the bathroom. Seriously. I got one of my first Twitter messages from a tech-geek located in San Francisco while I was in the can. Last night before I went to bed, yet another tech-geek informed me that his day was just ending and he was heading home to watch TiVo. This morning the guy who co-founded Wikipedia Twittered to tell me (well, not just me) that he was in Syndey, Australia. Isn't that nice?
In one way, it's cool to think that we can have this level of connectivity. This is even quicker than email because not everyone has an email capable device on their hip (like I do). But I just can't figure out if I like it. I can't see any of you signing up for it. So who's going to "follow" me and get my Twitter messages?
What do you think?
[and now a word from our sponsors...]
I go to the Twitter site. I set up a free account with them - giving them my email, IM and phone number. Then I look around for people I know who also use the service. (I'll cover the reality of that later.) I find Susie. Oh, I know Susie. I click the link to "follow" Susie. So anytime Susie sends a txt message to "Twitter" I (and all the other people following Susie) receive that message. I can choose to get it through txt on my phone, to my IM account or just let it pile up in my Twitter "inbox." (It's not really an inbox, but I'll call it that for clarity's sake.) Sounds simple, right? It is.
But there are a couple of things that bother me. I don't know if you can stop people from "following" you. So Susie may have a ton of random strangers who have decided to get her updates. Susie sends out the message "Wanna see Grease at AMC tonight at 7:30?" On the one hand, that's great. She just told all her friends that they can meet her at the movies tonight. The more the merrier! On the other hand, complete strangers may show up looking for Susie or even worse, know that she's not home and break into her house. Great, the more the scarier.
Naturally, I don't know anyone using this service yet. So who could I "follow" to get a feel for how it works? I am following pseudo celebrities from the technology world - people who podcast about technology for a living. I have a feel for their personalities because I listen to their podcasts basically everyday. And now I get updates about what they're eating while I'm in the bathroom. Seriously. I got one of my first Twitter messages from a tech-geek located in San Francisco while I was in the can. Last night before I went to bed, yet another tech-geek informed me that his day was just ending and he was heading home to watch TiVo. This morning the guy who co-founded Wikipedia Twittered to tell me (well, not just me) that he was in Syndey, Australia. Isn't that nice?
In one way, it's cool to think that we can have this level of connectivity. This is even quicker than email because not everyone has an email capable device on their hip (like I do). But I just can't figure out if I like it. I can't see any of you signing up for it. So who's going to "follow" me and get my Twitter messages?
What do you think?
[and now a word from our sponsors...]
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2 Comments:
I'd be in...
Me too. I've got more txts than I know what to do with now. I'd twitter along behind you.
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