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

[Stilgherrian]

On 19/08/2009, at 2:48 PM, 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 :-)

Well, "regularly" but not "usually". :) Looking back at a list of  
recent articles, I'm quite confident that most have not been initially  
pimped on Link. http://stilgherrian.com/media_output/ I figure if  
people want ALL my output, well, the Good Lord invented RSS for a  
reason.


> 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.
>
> 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 regard
> someone as defective if they do.

This is all very sensible. Yes, people choose their social venues. Pub  
versus RSL or church hall, Twitter versus Facebook or whatever.  
However people do identify with their social venue because it speaks  
to them as an individual human. There's a very big difference between  
saying "Twitter is not for me" or "I don't get Twitter" or "I find  
Twitter to be pointless for me" to the Pear Analytics' research  
headline of is BEING pointless.

The difference is about saying what's your personal experience or  
opinion, and what's an absolute. And as you've worded it, Karl, it's  
clear that you're respecting the diversity, Pear Analytics, less so.


> 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".

And so you should. And I reckon you should just continue politely  
reminding them that every tool or venue is not for everyone.


> [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!!!"

Yes, but that wouldn't have gotten the media coverage. "4 million  
Sydneysiders go about their business without being murdered" is not  
news. "One person murdered" is.

Stil


-- 
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