[LINK] Pointless twitter, search engine wars and why didn't yahoo take off in Oz?

[Richard Chirgwin]

Karl Auer wrote:
> On Wed, 2009-08-19 at 13:56 +1000, Stilgherrian wrote:
>   
>> P.S. I don't usually pimp my Crikey articles or blog posts here.
>>     
>
> Yes you do! Regularly :-)
>
>   
>> Should I? Or is that too tacky?
>>     
>
> In response to an existing thread is fine. IMHO.
>
> I went off and read your articles, some others, and lots of responses.
> It took me some distance away from the original theme, but on my journey
> I was struck by how defensive many Twitter users are. Dare to say that
> you don't use it, or point out some negative aspect of it[1], and the
> Twitter world lands on the back of your neck screeching loudly about
> phatic communications and who knows what all else.
>
> Here's a news flash: Twitter is NOT for everybody. Sitting in the pub is
> great for a lot of people too, but for others it's a smelly, noisy,
> high-noise/low-content way to socialise, so they don't do it.
>   
Actually, in a way I find Twitter less confronting than a pub < deaf 
dude, over here! >. I can cope with high noise levels in text, but 
absolutely not in my ears.
> One person's trash is another person's treasure. I may be puzzled that
> anyone can possibly get anything out of Twitter, much as I am puzzled
> that anyone can possibly enjoy eating kidneys, but I don't regarda
> someone as defective if they do.
>   
Ha!

"Lamb kidneys, sliced and skewered to keep them open, doused in olive 
oil, mace, dry mustard, devilled butter, salt and pepper, and broiled 
five-and-three (three minutes on the cut side, five minutes on the skin 
side)." - Rex Stout, "Gambit". Trust me, it *works*.
> So I resent people telling me that because I don't use Twitter[2] I am
> in some way defective, or that I "don't understand".
>   
"Get with the program" is one of the most offensive arguments in the 
English language ... it says "if you don't think like me, you're wrong". 
It's a peer-group coercion ... perhaps I'm offended because I stopped 
listening to the peer group about age 16. IMO "get with the program" is 
just another form of peer-group pressure.

RC
> Yes, actually I *do* understand. IMNSHO Twitter is a pointless, noisy,
> annoying, timewasting piece of crap that the world would be far better
> off without. But - just like kidneys - it's tasty and nutritious to
> many, and I don't begrudge them their enjoyment of it.
>
> Regards, K.
>
> [1] Not talking about that ridiculous "study" here, that deserved all it
> got. Wonder what the reaction would have been, though, had she couched
> her results as "well over half of all tweets are useful!!!"
>
> [2] Or Facebook, or MySpace, or...
>
>