Does society really need TWITTER?

Twitter is for tweakers. Read a fucking book.

I've heard people say the exact same thing about myspace, facebook, youtube, etc.: "I'll never sign up and use this site, it's not like my life isn't filled with the internet _enough_ as it is".

Then, everyone you know who will validate your personal sense of worth will get on twitter. whether it be company whose product you enjoy or for whom you would like to work or whichever group of artists/musician/writer/celebrities who contribute to your personal identity--it doesn't whether you disagree with it or not.

The growth of online social networks is a direct response to the social trends that have until now governed America: the individualization brought on by 60's culture, the isolation caused by suburban existence, the nihilism of material wealth and a lack of, to put it modestly, faith in ones fellow man. We have seen these networks significantly effect the results of national elections and increasingly connect people across a country so long kept in ignorance by its own sheer geographic size.

Humans are eminently social animals. You will join twitter or the next site when they come to dictate the terms of your social existence--this is an inevitability. If this makes you more conscious of the well-being, or its lack thereof, of your fellow man as a consequence--well then that's just fine with me.

Tommy Gnossos?

I don't use it but am ambivalent. I don't think I could limit myself to 140 characters without having a stroke or something... too much to say in too little space... and that's hoping someone out there gives a crap what I have to say anyway. As a conversation medium it's okay but that's as far as i can take it.

This message would have required no less than three "tweets"

i can't be bothered with tweeting or texting, both technologies strike me as rather pointless.

When you talk to your friends, what do you talk about? You probably tell them what you had for lunch, or what you did last night. These are common conversations.

When you look at it this way, people on sites like Twitter are carrying on these same kinds of conversations except they are being broadcast to many more people that can "overhear" what you are saying.

Now if someone overheard you talking to your friend about the salad you ate last night at the Olive Garden and how good it was, this info would be useless and boring to them. But to the friend you are directly talking to, it may be quite interesting or useful.

In "Here Comes Everybody," Clay Shirky explains that we are confusing this new ability to broadcast our thoughts/opinions with traditional broadcasting, which is meant to entertain mass amounts of people. In reality, these two ideas of sharing information are merely overlapping with the publishing power of the Internet.

Do you really need me to say much more about Twitter? Well...If they allowed HTML & had a word character limit of at least more then 160 it would be worth something! Now if you could do a live podcast from the site,then they'd have something worth paying attention to! But honestly if I want to just write 140 letters somewhere I have many other places I'd much rather do that!

Obviously it isn't a necessity. It's just fun for some people, do we really need to bother asking questions like this? Who cares if your neighbor wants to let the world know he's eating some chips. Let's not over analyze this. It isn't like twitter is forcing anyone to read a post or make posts. Leave it alone.

No, we do not need Twitter. We need Current :)

never joined twitter never will :D

nicely done ;)

Does it need Twitter? No.

It's harmless, just another way of communicating with either people you know or people you don't.

If you can't sort through the inane to find things of interest then good for you.

hate hate hate hate HATE twitter.
it's so lame
such a hipster trendy website full of useless letters jumbled together
people want instant gratification with everything
instant oatmeal, instant ramen, instant friend notifications
what they don't realize is that all of these things aren't really good for you.
what we are losing is human contact
the ability to speak with people face to face about what we really mean.
Twitter is just another way to water down humanity.

No, eloquence is back in style for once please don't defame the english language any further with inane elements of twenty first century boredom.

I only Twitter once and never again, it never crossed my mind, even when Current keeps shoving its cooperation with Tweeter, I disregard it all, I forgot about it, until I stumbled onto this....

In an interview in the late 1960’s, Timothy Leary was asked, “So what do you do after you ‘Turn On’”??? Tim answered...

“Find the others…”

Twitter let's us all find the others plus IMHO it seems way more active than Facebook or Myspace.

Earlier got 2 tweet with Saul Williams, so today I've got nothang but luv for twitter =)

I know what you mean Gnoss.. i remember when i was first introduced to im-ing.. years ago.. i'd obsessed over it for hours and ignoring normal talk time.. then fb and all these random social sites came along... i love fb.. Txting.. became an massive addiction for me.. but one i broke my beloved t-mobile wing and txting stopped for 2 days until they sent me a new one.. i enjoyed those two days.. not having to be on the phone every second.. .i noticed things in everyday life that i'd have missed because of txting...

so now i have a shitty phone that i can barely txt on.. and make sure i talk to my friends..not send some digitzed bullshit..

Why do people call it a "social networking" site? Someone would have to be famous to create a network from there. It seems to me that it is just a cheap way to tell friends something without making a phone call or sending an email.

it's funny to think how big twitter has gotten in the past year. i remember when i first joined 2 years ago there were only a few interesting people to follow...mainly techie's and news organizations. now there are so many different types of celebs, politicians, porn stars, actors, musicians all using twitter to keep in touch with their fans and friends. i think the best part of twitter is the fact that you can get breaking news off of twitter faster than google or any other web news sites.

Just for the record I dont use twitter at all. I dont believe 140 characters is long enough. I am on myspace of course!!!

Twitter Twits

LOL

In response to the comments above, I think that twitter, like almost anything, can be destructive socially when misused and abused. For instance, people who constantly twitter, text and so on without actually ever communicating verbally and face to face with others will probably have some serious social defects. On the other hand, a person who is very social will have problems communicating when they refuse to use modern technology (i.e. the cell phone). Like anything in life, there needs to be a healthy balance, there needs to be moderation. We all could stand to exercise a little self control- and to exercise a little, too.

I don't wanna get dragged into twitter, but just like Myface, one of my friends is gonna convince me to try it. At first it sounds like a good idea but i don't think its gonna be all its cracked up to be....

Do we really need half the stuff we deem "useful" to society? I think utensils to eat with are a little stupid, clothes are stupid, plastic bags are stupid, the list goes on for days...

twitter...sorry no comment on this...as I don't know anything on this....sorry

I use Twitter not so I can be a part of a crappy trend, but because I like using it as a mini-soapbox.

Maybe we're just being too judgemental about the small size of the Tweets? I know I am/was.

Twitter is no better and no worse than the Internet itself. Some people (a lot of people) can write 3,000 word blogs every day and never say anything particularly interesting. And by the same token it's possible that someone can write something interesting or useful in only 140 charcaters.

I think both styles can coexist peacefully.

Some people are perfectly happy with 140 characters. There's nothing wrong with that. Some people don't want to waste time writing (or reading) very small micro-blog Tweets. There's nothing wrong with that either. The Internet is big enough to accomodate both styles of communication.

I think the argument that one cannot express something in 140 characters is absurd. It's probably true, but irrelevant.

Since most twitters (I'm excluding the pointless ones like "going to lunch," etc., which I believe statistically make up the majority), link to something, it's no different than perusing headlines on a news website and deciding what to read.

I think it is a soon-to-be defunct fad in terms of people using to update friends on what they're doing, but has the potential to, and in some ways already has, become a powerful networking and communication tool.

Twitter is as useful as you want it to be. I know people that even today complain about television in the same way this article complain about twitter.

It's a tool, and just like any other tool it can be used for creativity and communication, or for destruction - in this case, annoyance, I suppose.

The simple fact that so many people are this enraged by its existence and dead-set against it as a movement tells me Twitter is here to stay, in some form or another. It's too useful to dismiss as a "fad."

Wondering myself what site develops next for people to obsess about.

Go OUTSIDE - take a walk - hang with friends not online.

Just think the "social sites" are outta hand.

I'm a face to face type a gal.

I use it to keep in touch with my fellow queer chasers and clan buddies. It's pretty cool.

I don't know what all the hype about twitter is. It doesn't interest me in the least.

It's harming our ability to interact naturally with each other as nature intended.

I'd also like to say that no, of course we don't NEED twitter. We don't NEED Current, or Facebook, or the internet at all. We want it.

i agree. it's sad that we seem destined to become "islands" with no interaction except the numerous message bottles we float between our shores. man i love a good face to face conversation with a friend or stranger that i have no constant updates from so there is something to actually talk about!

You get out of it what you put into it.

Its not about tweeting about your lunch (although some do); it is about having conversations with people who provide relevant content and topics. I've made both personal and professional contacts through Twitter that I would have otherwise not been able to make.

Do we really need a place to collect the same news stories we could find in the paper so that you can comment on them with total strangers? Um no but we all seem to waste our time doing it anyways.

You won't catch ME on twitter!

Username: loopmovie

I don't even know what it is exactly and I don't care. The fact you felt the need to post a huge article about how it affects you proves you need some serious therapy. I assume it just another way for adults to be childish. This on the same lines of a grown women text messaging all day. These peope are crazy and should be banished to some other country ASAP.

Has anyone used twitpay yet?

I tried a couple weeks ago but it wasn't up and running.

I just got a message that it is up and the max amount you can send is $1,000.

Just curious if anyone has tried it yet and how well it works. Do you think it's easier than PayPal?

Oh yeah, anyone can follow me if you want to: twitter.com/deliatheartist

I mostly Twitter about art, stuff on Current, nerd news from my Fangirl blog, and whatever else pops into my head!

@crob

I use Twitter for my biz by tweeting about my artwork; I post links and pictures and get advice from people who are following me. Recently I did a piece about student loan debt and I tweeted "What does student loan debt feel like?" into the Twitter universe. I got a lot of interesting responses back that helped me decide on symbols to use in my piece. One of my last shows was run by a group named Arthouse and they were taking our pieces across the east coast; they twittered updates and pictures from all of the shows!

I follow Etsy and they tweet about new stuff coming into their store and updates to their webpage which helps me keep my Etsy store in top shape. I follow some other artists as well and it's always great for inspiration.

"Let's same I'm following Bill Cosby's on Twitter and every couple of hours he writes, "Eating a Jello Puddin' Pop. Mmmm!" It doesn't seem like that would be very interesting." LOL!!!! I don't really follow celebrities but I do follow Don Lemon and Anderson Cooper- Don Lemon and Rick Sanchez use Twitter to get viewer feedback during the news and I've been on CNN a few times giving my 2 cents which I think is pretty cool! Saul Williams always tweets these crazy pieces of poetry.

Again, it's all about who you follow and what you are interested in!

I just opened an account and do not find it necessary. You can already for update statuses on Facebook. Nope, not needed. I haven't followed anyone that I have in my following.

With technology there will always be naysayers; people who long for the good old days and think the newest technology is a waste of time, will ruin society, will alienate people from their friends, etc.

What is surprising is so many people on Current making this luddite gambit. If you are already here on current you are waste deep in the techno soup.

It's like standing waist deep in the ocean and claiming "I would rather not get wet!"

Follow me on twitter: unimatrix0zero https://twitter.com/unimatrix0zero

peace

Okay, so Twitter is not the root of all evil. It's just a computer app no better or worse than anything else.

But just out of curiosity what are some real world examples of how Twitter could be used as a Business Application? Someone mentioned that it was good for business, but I don't see how a Tweet would accomplish anything busines related. How would a Tweet be superior to a text from a Blackberry as far as business goes?

And as for "following" interesting people and/or celebrities on Twitter...maybe an example would help?

Let's same I'm following Bill Cosby's on Twitter and every couple of hours he writes, "Eating a Jello Puddin' Pop. Mmmm!" It doesn't seem like that would be very interesting.

Even Hemmingway would probably sound pretty boring if he were limited to only 140 characters, wouldn't he?

Just out of curiosity I would be interested in some examples of fun or interesting Tweets. Maybe there is a lot of potential to Twitter and some of us just aren't using it correctly.

from http://twitter.com/help/how:

"Twitter puts you in control and becomes a modern antidote to information overload."

Well, I'll never use twitter, so I'm not going to hit what i haven't tried. With that said, I don't think it's a necessity, far from it, but who am I to judge how others express themselves.

I for one just found and started a twitter account. I enjoy it. I don't have to read everybodies junk and its nice to see people making positive news. Maybe what you expose yourself to on the account is what should be looked at here. If you don't like people talking about food and crap then don't follow them, let them follow you...I enjoy releasing my mind on the twit because I talk about my any and everything that I learned through out the day. Being able to have a virtual journal on my thoughts and releases make it easy for me to reflect on things. A lot of succesful artist are on there and they talk about the things positive and iorny in their lives that help or helped them. For example Quest Love thought about what his father wanted him to be and who he is today. It wasn't that he was talking to any one in particular that I know of but its positive to see that he is receiving confirmation on his life and who he is. With out twitter I don't think this fleeting thought would have come out of him to the public...AGAIN WATCH WHO YOU INVITE TO FOLLOW YOU, AND WATCH WHO YOU FOLLOW...BIRDS OF A FEATHER FLOCK TOGETHER AND THATS WAS TWITTER IS ALL ABOUT...FLY WITH THE BIRDS THAT ARE LIKE YOU

As someone else said, your perception of Twitter and your experience with it depends on YOU. For many people, it's a great networking and business tool. I don't think it's making us dumber, more self indulgent, or anything else we want to randomly blame on the "next big thing".

If you don't like Twitter, don't use it. Pretty simple.

Want another way to be impersonal with your friends....just tweet. It's called a phone people, if you want your friends to know what your up to call them! It's not like we all don't own cell phones that are attached to our heads anyway!

I have found Twitter a very useful tool and if you select the right people all sorts of useful info comes up. I get links I would probably not normally see.

Unlike other sites, Twitter needs very little time and energy. I have a Twitter scan on my desktop when I see something which interests me I check it out.

Those who haven't tried it have nothing to offer in these comments. It would be like like reviewing a computer without turning the power on!

what are you doing? NOOOO what are you doing???

The entire goal of The Party in Orwell's "1984" was to ELIMINATE WORDS from general use...to dumb people down.

Isn't that Twitter in a nutshell?

So we went from long hand written letters, to text messages to Tweet limited to a mere 140 characters! You don't even get 140 words...just characters. And what do those limitations force people to do?

They srt wrtng mch shrter snteces like ths 2 sve space.

So instead of saying, "I am really happy" we just use an emoticon like :-)

We've flipped the script. In history socities usually advance from crude pictographs to actual words. We've gone the other direction.

Again, in Orwell's dystopia people were discouraged from complex sentences (which lead to rebellious complex thoughts) and were encouraged to say things like "ungood" or "double-plus-ungood"

Twitter has gone even further than Orwell...why use words when you can just grunt in pictures? That makes me :-(

And when I think of a funny joke I want to LOL.

Seriously, Twitter is bringing us one step closer to just grunting at each other like cavemen.

Its a waste of the human race time!

atleast the picture is humorous

To all my friends-you don't care what I'm doing and i don't feel the need to tell you.

Society has a lot of excesses. Twitter should really be your last concern.

I never twittered or twitted ..don't much care to either

and yet, and yet...

didn't we say the same thing about aim, facebook, myspace, etc?

Love twitter. I never thought I would. It fulfils my thirst for knowledge and teaches me lots of amazing new things every day.

My company uses it to monitor what's said about them even though we don't have a twitter profile for people to follow - but it's always nice to know what the GP think!

i have no intention of even finding out what this service is, merly because i am trying to get out of social networking now, so i can live a real life. aha

It's obsessive garbage. And yet, Current pushes it to the hilt like they do McDonalds. Why?

Never did this world ever need a twitter. It's scary self-typed obsession. I see no point to it.

nah, its a fad and it'll disappear into cyber history fairly quickly. When will people realise that they really don't need to be quite so "connected"?

I think alone twitter can be kind of useless. I think if you follow people who are boring twitter becomes more useless.

If you use it in conjunction with other social networking programs like myspace (if you into it) or sites with blog posting then it has a point. not a large point, but one that can be useful under certain conditions.

Using twitter to follow things like school events and other things that effect a large amount of people can make it useful too. for people who already have fans (artist, writers, and other creative hobbiest/professionals) it can be a neat way to find out if theres a new painting in the works or if that next book is off to the publishers.

If your tweets suck, you have nothing interesting to say, or your just spamming to whoever will listen then you really don't need to be saying anything to anyone. and chances are no one will listen... then again people pay attention to dumber things :\

personally, I follow my high school friends (everyone scattered to the wind after senior year, as the case often is) and my family. aside from that I follow a couple organizations I'm interested in, but I don't feel the need to follow stranger's lives.

I only really tweet about art I'm making, where I'm going when I hike/ go somewhere that I would need someone to know where I might be, and genuinely interesting things that people might care about. If I wouldn't want to hear about it from someone else why the hell should I put it up for others to read.

so society may not NEED twitter, we have a lot of things we don't need, but if used properly it can be helpful and even fun.

You create your own Twitter experience. If you follow a bunch of dumbasses who prefer to tweet about what kind of cereal they're eating, then of course you're not going to appreciate it.

Twitter is a hyper-connected publishing system. It's the most powerful text-based social media out there. I suggest you give it another try. Don't follow your friends. Follow people in your industry with meaningful things to say-- and when you Tweet, don't fall into the abyss of random pointlessness. Contribute to the conversation.

You'll convert someday...

I have to admit it. I'm over it.

I've lived without it all my life and will more than likely continue to do so.

from my experience so far - it blows and no.