i didn't know twittering and blogging were mutually exclusive.
If you have enough time, they don't have to be. But if publishing is a side-venture, you probably need to make a choice.
Why I'm Leaving Twitter and Returning to Blogging
11–20 of 22 posts
Re: Why I'm Leaving Twitter and Returning to Blogging
#12I agree with the article as it perfectly explains why I never joined Twitter in the first place. I can't see wasting my time and that of other people by spamming them with 140 character tidbits. Twitter is useful for sending small bits of information and telling people about simple things, but it isn't designed for complex ideas. It is more designed for applications such as sharing interesting links that you have fou…
You're not the only one to have expressed this attitude but I find it strange. How long does it take you to write 140 characters or less? Also, unless people are actively following you you are not "spamming" them.
Your summary of what Twitter is good for is accurate as far as it goes but what you are missing is that, when they are timely and from interesting people, those small bits of information can be valuable.
I follow around 200 low-volume people on Twitter with similar interests to my own (machine learning, maths, stats, Clojure, ambient music). The number of times I have got useful advice and heads-up on recent articles, events and releases makes Twitter worthwhile the small attentional overhead I give it. On top of that, there is a nice sense of community that has built up over time.
Dismissing something based on its functionality alone without having used it means you won't experience the myriad ways people make use of that functionality. Emergent behaviour is powerful and difficult to predict.
"Computers? Sure, they're useful for quickly processing numbers represented in binary but it's not like they are designed for doing really complex things."
Re: Why I'm Leaving Twitter and Returning to Blogging
#13> "Idea: OneClick – Mobile app, allows users to perform commonly-used, very specific actions in a single click.(i.e. get directions to address)" 143 characters my version: "OneClick: Mobile app, users perform common, specific actions in single click; eg, get directions." 98 characters. i agree with his sentiment, but i didn't find his example too compelling...maybe he has room to grow for twitter communication...alth…
The weird thing about twitter is that I see a lot of people who e-mail (longer form writing) me after doing a tweet and their e-mail is a lot tighter even if it is over 140 characters.
Re: Why I'm Leaving Twitter and Returning to Blogging
#14Earlier quoted context omitted.
Opportunity cost.
the way i see it, twittering lends itself to blogging and vice-versa. you hammer out a blog post then use twitter to get eyes on your post. plus, how much time could twitter possibly take from blogging? you can't get very much across in 140. symbiosis is the key
Twitter kind of acts like rss
Re: Why I'm Leaving Twitter and Returning to Blogging
#15> "Idea: OneClick – Mobile app, allows users to perform commonly-used, very specific actions in a single click.(i.e. get directions to address)" 143 characters my version: "OneClick: Mobile app, users perform common, specific actions in single click; eg, get directions." 98 characters. i agree with his sentiment, but i didn't find his example too compelling...maybe he has room to grow for twitter communication...alth…
If the issue with blogging is feeling obliged to write longer posts, don't. Keep them as short as they need to be, or as time permits, and just make the font bigger.
Re: Why I'm Leaving Twitter and Returning to Blogging
#16Re: Why I'm Leaving Twitter and Returning to Blogging
#17Thanks.. The article was thought provoking.
For me, thinking about tweeting something new every hour tires my brain.. yet I like to blog.. You can blog once a week or even once a month and still be considered an 'active' blogger.. but who could say the same about tweeting.. I also feel so much more productive when blogging.
I will have to give in someday I'm sure but for now I'm resisting the twitter borg.. Everyone is so social in this brave new world. Doesn't anyone want to be alone with their thoughts anymore?
Re: Why I'm Leaving Twitter and Returning to Blogging
#18I agree with the article as it perfectly explains why I never joined Twitter in the first place. I can't see wasting my time and that of other people by spamming them with 140 character tidbits. Twitter is useful for sending small bits of information and telling people about simple things, but it isn't designed for complex ideas. It is more designed for applications such as sharing interesting links that you have fou…
You're not the only one to have expressed this attitude but I find it strange. How long does it take you to write 140 characters or less? Also, unless people are actively following you you are not "spamming" them. Your summary of what Twitter is good for is accurate as far as it goes but what you are missing is that, when they are timely and from interesting people, those small bits of information can be valuable. I…
>How long does it take you to write 140 characters or less?
The proper question would be "how much does the context switching costs?", and the answer would be "a lot". Some estimate it can take 30 minutes to get back into working mode.
Re: Why I'm Leaving Twitter and Returning to Blogging
#19Earlier quoted context omitted.
the way i see it, twittering lends itself to blogging and vice-versa. you hammer out a blog post then use twitter to get eyes on your post. plus, how much time could twitter possibly take from blogging? you can't get very much across in 140. symbiosis is the key
Twitter kind of acts like rss
Yes, and also as comments.
Re: Why I'm Leaving Twitter and Returning to Blogging
#20Earlier quoted context omitted.
the way i see it, twittering lends itself to blogging and vice-versa. you hammer out a blog post then use twitter to get eyes on your post. plus, how much time could twitter possibly take from blogging? you can't get very much across in 140. symbiosis is the key
Twitter kind of acts like rss
Good point, I think I'll automate my twittering by converting my rss feed to tweets.