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Twitter is Pivoting

daltoncaldwell.com

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Re: Twitter is Pivoting

#51

Post by zaidf »

anu_gupta wrote: post #48
zaidf wrote: post #35

An experienced Twitter user would know to add a “.” at the beginning of his message so that his followers would see it. Signed up for twitter on the day it launched(I think) and did not know that. Twitter is a painful product to use. It isn't made for humans. Twitter doesn't have to show a username in tweets; they can easily translate it to the name. Twitter doesn't have to require each reply to appear like an out of…

Well, if you're Zaid on Twitter, and that's your original account, you signed up about a year after Twitter launched.

Pretty sure I signed up on the day it launched because I remember reading the TC story:)

Where do you see the sign up date? I either didn't tweet for a year or deleted my tweets at some point or held another account(unlikely since I don't think I'd get my 4 letter name a year after).

edit: I have at least one other account: http://twitter.com/oonth

Re: Twitter is Pivoting

#52

Post by cpeterso »

sethbannon wrote: post #7

This is how I use Twitter now -- to consume news and discuss said news with my social circles. I certainly wouldn't be upset if Twitter took this as the core use case of the product.

Twitter is like RSS for people who don't know what RSS is. And I mean that in a good way. :)

Re: Twitter is Pivoting

#53

Post by Alex3917 »

zaidf wrote: post #35

An experienced Twitter user would know to add a “.” at the beginning of his message so that his followers would see it. Signed up for twitter on the day it launched(I think) and did not know that. Twitter is a painful product to use. It isn't made for humans. Twitter doesn't have to show a username in tweets; they can easily translate it to the name. Twitter doesn't have to require each reply to appear like an out of…

I've had an account since 2007 and this is the first I've ever heard of this also. Here is the explanation:

"Place a period before the beginning of the @ if you plan on beginning your message with a mention, or else Twitter will only send that tweet to people who follow both you and the person you are mentioning."

http://thenextweb.com/twitter/2012/09/15/a-list-twitters-lan...

Re: Twitter is Pivoting

#56

Post by madh »

lordlarm wrote: post #50

I actually have used and are using twitter. It is a horrendous user experience - but I know how to fix it. My main problem is my diverse interest in different subjects and twitters current inability to let me organize and follow what I like. I'm following approx. 200 people divided 30% technology, 30% cycling and 30% friends/locals. For me, it would be impossible to imagine following more than 250 or 300 people with…

I have a similar issue. I go to Twitter for many things -- work info, to laugh, friends -- and it doesn't work to have everything jammed into one stream.

I would like to see something split the list of accounts I follow into subject-based lists or something so that I can consume with context.

At some point, I think following becomes less important. Ideally Twitter could just show me tweets that I should enjoy. I'm not looking to get every update anyway -- I just want to dip into a stream of info that I'd find both timely and relevant.

Re: Twitter is Pivoting

#57

Post by corin_ »

zaidf wrote: post #35

An experienced Twitter user would know to add a “.” at the beginning of his message so that his followers would see it. Signed up for twitter on the day it launched(I think) and did not know that. Twitter is a painful product to use. It isn't made for humans. Twitter doesn't have to show a username in tweets; they can easily translate it to the name. Twitter doesn't have to require each reply to appear like an out of…

140 characters annoys me when I have something long to say, but overall it's something that I really like about it, and I know plenty of people who agree with me.

I don't know if they'd do better by dropping the limit, but saying it's a bad limit is definitely subjective not objective.

Re: Twitter is Pivoting

#58

Post by jmduke »

For those unaware: Dalton Caldwell is the creator of app.net, a direct competitor of Twitter (with a subscription fee model instead of an advertising/data model).

I think it's important to read the post with that context in mind.

Re: Twitter is Pivoting

#59

Post by sparkie »

swohns wrote: post #16
ChuckMcM wrote: post #8

Ok, third comment here, guess the previous two comments (memesisj and jamesmoss) pretty much define 'polarizing' :-) Dalton raises some interesting questions. What exactly is twitter ? And perhaps more importantly what does Twitter think it can become? The churn in API restrictions, usage and messages certainly can be confusing.

I don't see these options as mutually exclusive. How is consumption of information canceling out sharing information? Especially with the ability to email tweets now. This seems to run contrary to what Dalton is writing about. My favorite twitter comment is that you don't have to tweet to use twitter. You can contribute to the news, and you can consume it, Twitter isn't pushing for people to use just pursue one.

Twitter is pushing people into using their service in particular ways (eg, by restricting clients), and by the sounds of what is to come - the advertising will gradually get more aggressive.

Dalton understands what makes social media work - and you can see it in how he advertises App.net. If you ask "what is App.net" and look for Dalton's answer somewhere - he never explicitly states. He is deliberately vague about what it is - because it isn't anything until its users have defined what it is.

That's how twitter became successful in the first place - the service was defined by its users to become what it is now. Not just twitter, but every major social network grew the same way, and the ones that failed are those that didn't understand this.

So Twitter, Inc. need to be careful not to piss off it's content creators with aggressive advertising or constraining how they interact with it. What Twitter, Inc want their service to be is ultimately not their decision - it's up to the users.

Re: Twitter is Pivoting

#60

Post by state »

bentlegen wrote: post #36
state wrote: post #31

To me, what's implied by this piece — since it's written by Dalton — is that Twitter is leaving behind an opportunity that he plans to take advantage of. What remains to be seen is whether the thing they're leaving behind can be fully realized. Do people really need a short-form messaging platform for communication?

Or perhaps Twitter has already figured out that there is no opportunity, and Dalton is mistaken in believing it exists.

Exactly.
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