Comments on: How to Use Twitter Like a Pro, or at Least Better than @davidpogue http://aloneandunobserved.com/2009/01/17/how-to-use-twitter-like-a-pro-or-at-least-better-than-davidpogue/ Turning a Blind Eye to My Own Faults Since 1980! Wed, 17 Mar 2010 02:08:38 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9 hourly 1 By: TechKathy.com » Blog Archive » To Tweet or Not to Tweet… http://aloneandunobserved.com/2009/01/17/how-to-use-twitter-like-a-pro-or-at-least-better-than-davidpogue/comment-page-1/#comment-1493 TechKathy.com » Blog Archive » To Tweet or Not to Tweet… Thu, 29 Jan 2009 23:41:33 +0000 http://aloneandunobserved.com/?p=1743#comment-1493 [...] How to Use Twitter Like a Pro, by Sean Tibbitts, (a response to Pogue’s article). [...] [...] How to Use Twitter Like a Pro, by Sean Tibbitts, (a response to Pogue’s article). [...]

]]> By: Sean http://aloneandunobserved.com/2009/01/17/how-to-use-twitter-like-a-pro-or-at-least-better-than-davidpogue/comment-page-1/#comment-1486 Sean Mon, 26 Jan 2009 23:10:31 +0000 http://aloneandunobserved.com/?p=1743#comment-1486 Mark David, there are lots of ways of handling lots of followers gracefully (only a few of which involve following everyone back), and I think you do fairly well. Not having that many followers myself, I really don't know what to do about the lack of intimacy, although I can imagine it would be tough. Feel free to recommend this blog post to anyone you like. Just bear in mind that the whole thing is 100% my opinion—YMMV and all that. Nathalie, I'm glad you've gotten involved. I think Twitter is a blast, as well as being really useful in some very unique ways. Worth, reading public Twitter posts is perfectly fine, whether you find them on Twitter.com or subscribe to them via RSS feed. On the other hand, creating a Twitter account, following a lot of people but never tweeting yourself is kind of frowned on—the not-nice word you'll hear people use is "leech." I counsel against it. If you're on Twitter, and you want to follow people, you should tweet yourself. Karen, thanks for stopping by. It's true, David Pogue and I are not feuding—as if he would need to feud with someone like me when he could have just ignored me. Instead he sent a mountain of traffic to my site. So: David Pogue, thank you! Mark David, there are lots of ways of handling lots of followers gracefully (only a few of which involve following everyone back), and I think you do fairly well. Not having that many followers myself, I really don’t know what to do about the lack of intimacy, although I can imagine it would be tough.

Feel free to recommend this blog post to anyone you like. Just bear in mind that the whole thing is 100% my opinion—YMMV and all that.

Nathalie, I’m glad you’ve gotten involved. I think Twitter is a blast, as well as being really useful in some very unique ways.

Worth, reading public Twitter posts is perfectly fine, whether you find them on Twitter.com or subscribe to them via RSS feed. On the other hand, creating a Twitter account, following a lot of people but never tweeting yourself is kind of frowned on—the not-nice word you’ll hear people use is “leech.” I counsel against it. If you’re on Twitter, and you want to follow people, you should tweet yourself.

Karen, thanks for stopping by. It’s true, David Pogue and I are not feuding—as if he would need to feud with someone like me when he could have just ignored me. Instead he sent a mountain of traffic to my site. So: David Pogue, thank you!

]]> By: Karen http://aloneandunobserved.com/2009/01/17/how-to-use-twitter-like-a-pro-or-at-least-better-than-davidpogue/comment-page-1/#comment-1485 Karen Mon, 26 Jan 2009 22:32:17 +0000 http://aloneandunobserved.com/?p=1743#comment-1485 Just letting you know that David Pogue twittered about Sean's article and posted a direct link. He didn't seem to have a problem with it. Just letting you know that David Pogue twittered about Sean’s article and posted a direct link. He didn’t seem to have a problem with it.

]]> By: Worth http://aloneandunobserved.com/2009/01/17/how-to-use-twitter-like-a-pro-or-at-least-better-than-davidpogue/comment-page-1/#comment-1484 Worth Mon, 26 Jan 2009 22:09:22 +0000 http://aloneandunobserved.com/?p=1743#comment-1484 No need to tweet--one can just read the twitters of those one finds interesting, which was the most useful part of the Pogue post to me. No need to tweet–one can just read the twitters of those one finds interesting, which was the most useful part of the Pogue post to me.

]]> By: Nathalie http://aloneandunobserved.com/2009/01/17/how-to-use-twitter-like-a-pro-or-at-least-better-than-davidpogue/comment-page-1/#comment-1480 Nathalie Mon, 26 Jan 2009 02:30:50 +0000 http://aloneandunobserved.com/?p=1743#comment-1480 Great post, Sean. I have not read the NYT article yet. As a small business owner and full-time mom, I am always juggling a thousand things. I thought I was too busy to mess with twitter. I finally took the plunge and can admit that I was wrong. I cannot say that I fully comprehend how to use twitter, but it is amazing how much more informed I feel about current affairs and what other people's lives are like outside of my own microcosm in Charlotte, NC. And yes, it is entertaining too. Great post, Sean. I have not read the NYT article yet. As a small business owner and full-time mom, I am always juggling a thousand things. I thought I was too busy to mess with twitter. I finally took the plunge and can admit that I was wrong. I cannot say that I fully comprehend how to use twitter, but it is amazing how much more informed I feel about current affairs and what other people’s lives are like outside of my own microcosm in Charlotte, NC. And yes, it is entertaining too.

]]> By: Mark David Gerson http://aloneandunobserved.com/2009/01/17/how-to-use-twitter-like-a-pro-or-at-least-better-than-davidpogue/comment-page-1/#comment-1452 Mark David Gerson Sat, 24 Jan 2009 05:08:28 +0000 http://aloneandunobserved.com/?p=1743#comment-1452 Great Twitter primer, Sean. I resisted Twitter for months. Like many, I couldn't figure out what to do with it (or why). But once I took the leap, I connected with lots of really great people and have no regrets. Only problem now is I have so many followers (and I don't follow everyone back, but I do follow many) that the intimacy I enjoyed at the outset is gone. I didn't try to get so many followers. It just kinda happened! BTW, I also use ping.fm and twitterfon. They're great utilities. Again, thanks for the blog. I'll pass the URL on to the next person who says to me, "Why Twitter?" Mark David <abbr><em>Mark David Gerson’s last blog post..<a href="http://markdavidmuse.blogspot.com/2009/01/all-that-matters-is-that-im-writing.html" rel="nofollow">All That Matters Is That I'm Writing</a></abbr></em> Great Twitter primer, Sean.

I resisted Twitter for months. Like many, I couldn’t figure out what to do with it (or why). But once I took the leap, I connected with lots of really great people and have no regrets.

Only problem now is I have so many followers (and I don’t follow everyone back, but I do follow many) that the intimacy I enjoyed at the outset is gone. I didn’t try to get so many followers. It just kinda happened!

BTW, I also use ping.fm and twitterfon. They’re great utilities.

Again, thanks for the blog. I’ll pass the URL on to the next person who says to me, “Why Twitter?”

Mark David

Mark David Gerson’s last blog post..All That Matters Is That I’m Writing

]]> By: Sean http://aloneandunobserved.com/2009/01/17/how-to-use-twitter-like-a-pro-or-at-least-better-than-davidpogue/comment-page-1/#comment-1434 Sean Thu, 22 Jan 2009 19:15:51 +0000 http://aloneandunobserved.com/?p=1743#comment-1434 Glad my take worked for you, katbron. Happy Twittering! Glad my take worked for you, katbron. Happy Twittering!

]]> By: katbron http://aloneandunobserved.com/2009/01/17/how-to-use-twitter-like-a-pro-or-at-least-better-than-davidpogue/comment-page-1/#comment-1433 katbron Thu, 22 Jan 2009 18:17:25 +0000 http://aloneandunobserved.com/?p=1743#comment-1433 yup, yup, yup. Like your take better. I was ready to give up twitter because I had broken all the rules I'm sure. Thanks - I'll keep on tweeting. <abbr><em>katbron’s last blog post..<a href="http://twitter.com/katbron/statuses/1139713455" rel="nofollow">katbron: @OutlanderUSA you are in my thoughts. Re: side note...no. *feels small*</a></abbr></em> yup, yup, yup. Like your take better. I was ready to give up twitter because I had broken all the rules I’m sure. Thanks – I’ll keep on tweeting.

katbron’s last blog post..katbron: @OutlanderUSA you are in my thoughts. Re: side note…no. *feels small*

]]> By: Sean http://aloneandunobserved.com/2009/01/17/how-to-use-twitter-like-a-pro-or-at-least-better-than-davidpogue/comment-page-1/#comment-1432 Sean Thu, 22 Jan 2009 05:54:19 +0000 http://aloneandunobserved.com/?p=1743#comment-1432 boomaga, for someone who despises Twitter and social networking as much as you say you do, you are certainly taking an interesting path across the web today. Are you searching out posts on this subject to sneer at them, or to glory in your friendless elitism? I also can't help but noticing that the website you submitted... is a social networking site. DOES NOT ADD UP. But back to what you actually said... ...which was really funny and interesting, actually. I don't agree with you--as I said, I don't follow boring people on Twitter, and Facebook learns to pay more attention to the friends I'm actually interested in than the stultifying ones--but your point is well taken. On one hand, you're right: most people aren't eloquent or witty or brilliant. But a lot of people have something you are apparently claiming not to have: a desire to connect with other people, even in mundane ways. Twitter and Facebook and blogs are popular because they tap into this social need. If you don't have such a need and despise those that do, I would simply suggest you shut down all your accounts on all the sites it sounds like you have accounts with, and go find something that does work for you. (Also, tell me--that last line, was it about porn? a vibrator? coffeemaker? nose-hair trimmer? We all want to know how better to "maximize [our] electronic-gadget timewasting.") boomaga, for someone who despises Twitter and social networking as much as you say you do, you are certainly taking an interesting path across the web today. Are you searching out posts on this subject to sneer at them, or to glory in your friendless elitism? I also can’t help but noticing that the website you submitted… is a social networking site. DOES NOT ADD UP. But back to what you actually said…

…which was really funny and interesting, actually. I don’t agree with you–as I said, I don’t follow boring people on Twitter, and Facebook learns to pay more attention to the friends I’m actually interested in than the stultifying ones–but your point is well taken. On one hand, you’re right: most people aren’t eloquent or witty or brilliant. But a lot of people have something you are apparently claiming not to have: a desire to connect with other people, even in mundane ways. Twitter and Facebook and blogs are popular because they tap into this social need. If you don’t have such a need and despise those that do, I would simply suggest you shut down all your accounts on all the sites it sounds like you have accounts with, and go find something that does work for you.

(Also, tell me–that last line, was it about porn? a vibrator? coffeemaker? nose-hair trimmer? We all want to know how better to “maximize [our] electronic-gadget timewasting.”)

]]> By: boomaga http://aloneandunobserved.com/2009/01/17/how-to-use-twitter-like-a-pro-or-at-least-better-than-davidpogue/comment-page-1/#comment-1431 boomaga Thu, 22 Jan 2009 05:34:33 +0000 http://aloneandunobserved.com/?p=1743#comment-1431 ... see, this is why the appeal of social networking sites has always eluded me. I don't get that "community" vibe, this isn't content worth reading, this is crap. Not to sound eliteist, but blogging, MySpace, Friendster, Facebook, and now Twitter - all these things have the effect of bringing boring people into the belief that their every waking minute should be documented, the minutiae of their lives are worth shouting from the mountaintop, that what used to pass for mindless smalltalk is worth taking up bandwidth/server space for - that, because they CAN say something, they actually HAVE something to say. And it ain't friggin' true. If more people were secret geniuses, or poets, or psychotic, or delusionally romantic, or genuinely funny in a not-quoting-Dane-Cook way,... But they're not. The people of prestige, those who perhaps you'd WANT to hear from who lead exciting lives or do important things - well, they have their voices heard in other ways, don't they. Most people are about as boring as they secretly dread that they might be. And just because it's a new form/medium doesn't mean the world needs it or that it's going to revolutionize doodly-squat. Even with the axiom about the soul of wit, sometimes LESS IS LESS and a full thought cannot be compressed to be expressed. McLuhanites haven't blinked an eye here - it's a textbook case. Boring Twitter messages or alerts or blogs, even from friends, about boring things they're doing that they post about just because they feel they have to post SOMETHING... well, the posts make me hate them. Like anyone else leading the quiet-desperation lifestyle, I hate my own prosaic, mundane day-to-day humdrum and I would be embarassed to inflict anyone with the stories of where I had lunch or how I stubbed my toe - it bores ME. All of a sudden I'm supposed to care about some one ELSE'S bullshit when I don't even care about my own. Of course, I am a friendless loner, living a sheltered life, plotting and scheming, definitely three miles down the wrong path of Maslow's hierarchy of needs, destined to die alone and afraid, having turned my back on hope and love. But dammit, I KNOW how to maximize my electronic-gadget timewasting. … see, this is why the appeal of social networking sites has always eluded me.
I don’t get that “community” vibe, this isn’t content worth reading, this is crap. Not to sound eliteist, but blogging, MySpace, Friendster, Facebook, and now Twitter – all these things have the effect of bringing boring people into the belief that their every waking minute should be documented, the minutiae of their lives are worth shouting from the mountaintop, that what used to pass for mindless smalltalk is worth taking up bandwidth/server space for – that, because they CAN say something, they actually HAVE something to say.
And it ain’t friggin’ true.
If more people were secret geniuses, or poets, or psychotic, or delusionally romantic, or genuinely funny in a not-quoting-Dane-Cook way,… But they’re not. The people of prestige, those who perhaps you’d WANT to hear from who lead exciting lives or do important things – well, they have their voices heard in other ways, don’t they.
Most people are about as boring as they secretly dread that they might be. And just because it’s a new form/medium doesn’t mean the world needs it or that it’s going to revolutionize doodly-squat. Even with the axiom about the soul of wit, sometimes LESS IS LESS and a full thought cannot be compressed to be expressed. McLuhanites haven’t blinked an eye here – it’s a textbook case.
Boring Twitter messages or alerts or blogs, even from friends, about boring things they’re doing that they post about just because they feel they have to post SOMETHING… well, the posts make me hate them. Like anyone else leading the quiet-desperation lifestyle, I hate my own prosaic, mundane day-to-day humdrum and I would be embarassed to inflict anyone with the stories of where I had lunch or how I stubbed my toe – it bores ME. All of a sudden I’m supposed to care about some one ELSE’S bullshit when I don’t even care about my own.
Of course, I am a friendless loner, living a sheltered life, plotting and scheming, definitely three miles down the wrong path of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, destined to die alone and afraid, having turned my back on hope and love. But dammit, I KNOW how to maximize my electronic-gadget timewasting.

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