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lwsimon

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No, LOL only vaguely know what it even is. But does seem that we discussed this in the old forum and I posted a link about how professionals were abandoning Twitter. But as the old forum is difficult to get to and the search never worked well... seems like a good idea to start it here again.

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I have it, but I don't use it much. I read everyone's tweets but I don't post often. You have a new follower. ;)

 

(I think I've actually found someone in this forum who shares my political views, too!)

 

LOL.

 

Twitter has been invaluable to me in my day job as well. I can stay on top of what's happening in the web dev world without wasting time.

 

As for professionals abandoning it - I don't see that. I can speak directly with people like John Resig at time I need to. I don't see anything able to replace that.

 

Plus, it makes me happy to think that I can type a message and have it instantly appear on Karl Rove's screen. :)

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I've been getting more into Twitter recently as a way to network with others and as Lyndsy said, keep up on events and useful links within the web dev community. Gives me a sense of connection with others of similar interests, even with people half way around the world, which can be especially good as a freelancer.

 

twitter.com/falkencreative is mine, though most of you probably already know that

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:| - OK, I'll bite. Why?

 

I like the quote on the Twitter homepage by Eric Nuzman of "The Dead Travel fast"

If you aren't familiar with Twitter, it is one of those things, like MySpace, that sounds totally ridiculous and stupid when you first hear about it.
.

 

He got that part right.

 

Now I am anti-social. I do not have facebook nor visit it. Youtube I only visit for old music. I am not into social networking. I have a blog yes, but just as a mirror to what I write here. Not much of a following and that is fine. The net is trashed with Blogs that are just people talking garbage no one cares about. Websites poorly built and with worthless trash like my rusty beer can collection I use as an example. The net is flooded with scum to the point it is hard to find quality content anymore.

 

So now, we have Twitter. The next big Fad, the next Buzzword, the next bandwagon everyone is jumping on. I see it as Steve Martin in "The Jerk", wandering down the street telling everyone he is in the telephone book, he is finally someone! This seems the same to me, I am on Twitter, I am finally someone!... until the next social fad comes around, IM, Websites, Blogs, Facebook or Myspace and now Twitter.

 

So the question begs answer, Why would anyone want to know what I am doing at any one time? Why should I want them to know? Who cares if I am drinking a coke at McDonalds? If it is a matter of following postings... why not just read my blog? What use is anything real time if we do not live in the same city and wish to drink together?

 

Anyone care to explain this? I am against Twitter is as far as I am against anything else cluttering the net and and the basic, everyone jump on the most recent Fad. Professional Blogs have been a great boon and I follow many, what does Twitter do professionally that a blog does not? What exactly am I missing here?

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So the question begs answer, Why would anyone want to know what I am doing at any one time? Why should I want them to know? Who cares if I am drinking a coke at McDonalds? If it is a matter of following postings... why not just read my blog?

 

I said the SAME exact thing not too long ago. But then I started really looking at some of the things being posted on twitter by web designers/developers and found that a lot of it is quite useful. As a freelancer who is not plugged into the corporate world, I have found the information posted there to be extremely informative and interesting. Yes, there are crazy posts that I'd rather not see and it seems like some people are posting just to "hear themselves" (does that make sense?). But I have found some real gems for future web projects by reading others' posts.

 

I found out about this today via sitepoint's twitter that I would not have known about any other way: Sitepoint's Bushfire Relief Sale

 

Personally, between my 3 kids and my freelancing, I don't have time to read a bunch of blogs, so twitter is great for me. And a lot of times, bloggers will mention their blog posts on their twitter page and if I am interested, then I can hop over and read it.

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The net is flooded with scum to the point it is hard to find quality content anymore.

And that is one reason to use Twitter -- as a method of finding quality content.

 

Professional Blogs have been a great boon and I follow many, what does Twitter do professionally that a blog does not? What exactly am I missing here?

The advantage that Twitter has over blogs is that it is short, and personable. Because individual messages are short, they are easy to scan, and you don't waste a lot of time reading things you aren't interested in. Twitter messages can link off to blog posts, as Susie mentioned, and I really don't have a huge amount of time to keep up with a lot of blogs. Good content tends to rise to the surface, because others will retweet it, and people who spam/don't have quality content can be unfollowed. If there are people who post every single thing they are doing in the day, just don't follow them.

 

The other thing I like about it is that it's a dialog between people, and people can chat in real time. It isn't quite the same as instant messenger, but definitely more interactive than reading blog comments. Since it is open to the public, anyone who is following you can see your posts to other people, and they can comment as well. Post a question, and you could have an answer or suggestions within a couple minutes of your post. A blog can't do that, unless someone watches RSS feeds all day.

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Hmm, it sounds interesting picking up useful snippets of info. I suppose a blog can be too time-consuming, but then again, blogs are a more in-depth thing. It's something you don't mind diving into, especially if you know that the content is going to help you look at things in a different way.

 

Twittering, or is it tweetering? Anyway, this too can be time-consuming, though perhaps you're more likely to have the opportunity to be that much more on top of new developments when the word gets out, but only superficially, I think, as you've still got to go through the blogs to get a fuller understanding of what's new.

 

I do like the idea of Twitter, but only if you're a professional web designer / developer. I'm not interested in all those other twits out there. :o

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I do like the idea of Twitter, but only if you're a professional web designer / developer. I'm not interested in all those other twits out there. yikes

I agree on that one... it doesn't necessarily make sense for everyone to have a twitter account. Twitter makes sense for me since I am a web designer/developer and I am online most of my day. If my neighbor had a twitter account, would I follow it? Not likely.

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I found out about this today via sitepoint's twitter that I would not have known about any other way: Sitepoint's Bushfire Relief Sale
I have a twitter -but haven't used it since I set it up:-) --- But first I have to run home and see which ones of the sitepoint books I don't have yet and still need - that's one heck of a bargain!!!
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John Resig, for example, always posts about upcoming releases of jQuery, stuff he's working on, or asking for opinions. All of my followings are either related to my employer, web development, or politics. All stuff I'm intensely interested in, and like to be in the loop.

 

For instance - jQuery 1.3.1 will likely launch tomorrow. Did you know that? :)

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Well, don't follow me. I spew useless information all the time.

 

The internet needs to be fun. I like social networks. I have rekindled several lost friendships over on FaceBook and have drawn several hundred dollars worth of freelancery off of MySpace. All while having fun in cyberspace. :D

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I use Tweetdeck' date=' with thin columns, and its always up on my topmost monitor at work. I've been assigned as our "social marketing" expert. :/[/quote']

 

so using Twitter makes you a social marketing expert? lol :P

 

Where do I sign up?

 

 

I always wanted to be an expert at something.

 

:D

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I use Tweetdeck' date=' with thin columns, and its always up on my topmost monitor at work. I've been assigned as our "social marketing" expert. :/[/quote']

 

so using Twitter makes you a social marketing expert? lol :P

 

Funny you should say that. That's one of those titles that is so undefined it really has no real requirements.

 

But no. I work in a communications group, and since I do intranet stuff, they thought I'd be the best fit for that. I always jump on a chance to learn something new so *poof* - instant expert.

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