Will you get bored of Twitter?
May 6th, 2009
Yesterday morning Paddy Donnelly posed the question to Stephen Fry “Do you think you’ll eventually get bored of twitter?” Unfortunately Stephen hasn’t given a response, maybe he feels his answer is ‘yes’.
For me, I think it will be a while before my answer isn’t ‘no’. Having enjoyed Twitter as an early adopter since early 2007 I still get a lot out of it today, and hope that I give some back too – Although with many new users coming on board, I am feeling the need to curb my tweeting slightly so as not to constantly bombard their stream with that which they have no interest in. In saying that I don’t really care that much, for the reasons below.
I’ve made friends through twitter, used it as a communication tool between those I have and haven’t met, asked questions, got answers, gotten physical things, arranged meetings, kept up with events I’ve been at, or that I haven’t been able to attend, got my fill of news stories, kept up with the progress of certain group activities that interest me, learned of the latest technologies, chatted about all sorts of topics including lots of photography and got help with various technology woes, put out statements pertaining to my own frustration and happiness and share ideas with others.
Twitter has many uses, and everyone uses it differently, from the banal and friendly ‘Good morning’ and ‘Good night’ to breaking news reports, from major networks to citizens. The platform is simple, but with many possibilities – most far beyond with the new user is likely to grasp.
But, as many people seem to be moving away from Twitter, or at least talking about it, after much talk in recent weeks/months of how it has already peaked, how much life does Twitter have before something better comes along. Is it that it is talked about too much? When Myspace was in its prime people didn’t seem to talk about it so much as a platform, they just talked about it and got on with using it. Many used it badly, and some still do, but they just did it. As someone said recently “…When people chat on the bus they don’t only talk about buses.” How long before Twitter is simply used rather than talked about?
Facebook seems to be at that stage now, being so much better than Myspace every was it is difficult to use it ‘incorrectly’ with its targeted advertising, event pages, groups and clear distinctions between personal profiles for people you know and “fan pages” – with the ability to share almost anything via RSS and Notes. With it’s simple design and relatively easy-to-use-functionality, once you figure out the possibilities. Facebook is for connecting with people and maintaining a “personal” (I use the term loosely, it is the internet after all) – Twitter is the current leading source of real-time internet and communication.
It’s almost that Twitter is too simple that many people just don’t get it – but it’s for that reason that it works, and will continue to work for quite some time, unless they drastically change things resulting in a boycott, as always happens, or something much better comes along, but I doubt that will happen for quite sometime.
Are you bored with Twitter, and do you think the ‘real-time’ web will be short-lived?
