Saturday, November 14, 2009

Saturday Escapes

This week’s Saturday Escape will be a little different than usual. Instead of telling you about one of my favourite websites, I thought you guys could help explain the global fascination with one to me. You see, there is a social networking site out there that I know millions of people are addicted to and yet I have no desire to sign up. In 140 characters or less, members can tell the world what they think about lunch, Fox News, or the latest episode of Survivor. I am, of course, talking about Twitter.

I love Facebook and have been known to spend more than my fair share of time updating my status and responding to other people’s comments and updates. Facebook simply seems to offer its members so much more bang for their buck than boring, one-note Twitter. Am I missing something? What is so great about Twitter that CNN has practically an entire hour every week devoted to people’s tweets?

Twits spend hours on Twitter tweeting. (Ok I wasn’t sure where in this post I could put that, but I desperately wanted to type that sentence.)

Twitter is this week’s Saturday Escape.

34 comments:

Betty W said...

I´m first? I can´t wait to read the other comments because I have the same question!! I was on twitter for about a year, but kept forgetting to log in and update/tweet something. After a while my username started to send spam to my twitter friends, and then I´d had enough and deleted it!
Who needs it!? Not me.

Corinne said...

I don't quite get it either. But then, I'm rather wordy, so the 140 characters would leave me stumped. And then...are people really THAT interested in knowing the blow-by-blow details of my life? Something tells me no.

Connie said...

If I have something I must share now(!) - then it is usually something that I know will be of particular interest to certain people - that's when I text! I don't spam everyone with every stupid thought. Quality is better than quantity. I am not a twit.

N said...

I had twitter then delete the account, then signed up again. I like FB more than Twitter...Maybe some people are obsessed with themselves and want the world to know about them.

LadyFi said...

I'm on Twitter and update every few days or so. I think the power of Twitter is that you can see what millions of people are saying and thinking about a certain topic in real time - as it's happening.

For example, in Iran the only way we knew what was happening was when Iranian students twittered about it. Same thing goes in China, for example. A powerful tool for freedom of expression.

By searching for topics according to hash tags (#) you can find out what millions of people think about things.

There's a lot of noise and rubbish in the Twitterscape, so it's all about trying to maximize it to get the gold kernels... Not easy - and as said, I'm not on Twitter every day.

Hey - it's be great if you could find me on Facebook!

BLOGitse said...

I agree with LadyFi
but
I'm on Twitter online for example when I'm hopping from blogs to blogs! :)
I tweet photos and my blog postings.
Excellent way to network - I can choose who to connect with and the pressure is not as big as in FB where I deleted my account.

Skogkjerring said...

I don't get twitter either. I was on there but got off..I'm a facebook addict..add me if you like, I have over 600 facebook friends and I've probably only met 10% of them...but it's fun and updates quick enough for me..no one really wants to know what I'm doing minute by minute anyhow...zzzzzzzz boring!!

Healthy Shift Worker said...

I'm with you. I have some fun on Facebook but don't get the attraction of Twitter.

Coniqua said...

Happy Saturday Sharefest!

I used to be on FB all the time but now I'm a twitter addict. The funny thing is that I know almost everyone that I'm friends w. on FB but almost noone that I follow on Twitter.

The difference between my FB and twitter accounts is one is personal and the other serves business purposes. I started my Twitter account to promote my blog/business and to stay "in the know" so to speak by connecting to others in my category.

I find it is a good way to find and share various articles, new websites, blogs of interest.

On FB on the other hand I mostly post pics of my family and connect w friends.

Zuzana said...

Hmm, I know close to nothing about twitter, even though I have been a member there for about 3 years now. I do not even remember my password.;)
It was the same with facebook for me, I have been a member way before anyone even talked about it, and it was first recently that I actually start to log on in there regularly.;)
xo
Zuzana

Unknown said...

I signed up for twitter to hopefully get more people directed to my online shop... but I truly can't stand it so rarely post more than every other week or so. What's that all about?

Unknown said...

I have a twitter account. I hardly use it. My sister however uses it everyday sever times a day. More then I would like her to use it.....you see I get her updates on my phone and well most of the time its usless information. I should just delete it BUT for some reason I can't. I love FB more also. Anyways thank you for stopping by my bloggy blog.

Anonymous said...

I'm on twitter. But admittedly a Twitterslacker. Sometimes I update more than once a day, but mostly not. I like to see the trends and the search feature is nice if your looking for people with common interests.
I like Facebook a lot. It's much more personal and I can keep up with the family and see photos...etc.
Hope you have an awesome Saturday:)!

Mel said...

I hate Twitter. I'm a Twhater. I love FB though!

M.E. Greene said...

Like you, I have no idea what Twitter is all about. I don't use it and have no desire to. Ever. I really can't figure out why people would bother giving an hourly play-by-play of their lives to strangers.

I do like Facebook, though!

Unknown said...

You can only get out of Twitter what you put into it. If you are a passive twitter user, who never follower, retweets or responds to anyone it's totally boring. It's still sometimes boring, but sometimes it's a lot of fun- depending on who is on twitter.

Thanks for visiting me on my SITS day.

Nicole said...

I use it mainly to post my blog updates and promote blog posts on my Artists Unite blog.
I gave up on trying to communicate with others that way a while back.
Since facebook got a lot better over the last two years, I actually start liking it,but I don't spend a lot of time there either.

Anonymous said...

Here! Here! I really don't get Twitter. I don't see the point in reading other people's small talk, which lets face it, is all twitter is. Blogging is better. See. I wouldn't have had the opportunity to find out how woefully sad Twitter is if I hadn't read this blog. We are all outed now.

Carol said...

I've had both for several months...hardly ever check them..most of the stuff on FB is someone playing a game..cant figure how these young mothers have time to play on it all day..

www.wildlifearoundus.blogspot.com

sprinkles said...

I have a twitter account. My one and only post a year or so ago says something to the effect of, "No one really cares what I'm doing or thinking, do they? Nah, I didn't think so!" Occasionally I'll get an email saying that someone has added themselves as a follower of mine which I totally don't get considering the message and the fact that I've only posted just the once. I don't read other people's tweets and don't follow anyone else's.

Liz Mays said...

I use twitter a little bit but I don't use my facebook at all. I feel like I need a tutorial to know what to do with it.

Lydia said...

I don't get Twitter either. When I'm getting up to date with people, it's when I'm online, on FB. When I'm not online, I'm doing something else. Not updating. Twitter? Meh.

RennyBA's Terella said...

Well, that's an interesting question! I work a lot with Twitter and maybe I could give you a few tips:

1: The fastest growing Social Media.
2: The quickest way to keep up on news, what's going on in the world, on a specific subject and business resources.
3: A grate place to promote your blog posts
4: A way to make new friends :-)

Your welcome to follow me.

theUngourmet said...

I have Twitter but I don't consider myself a twit because a rarely tweet! :D

I can see that is a useful way to get information out to a lot of people very quickly.

Sometimes I just need to let everyone know about my cupcakes right away! Not!

I don't really see the point in it all exactly but I just like to hang with the cool kids! :D

Anonymous said...

CNN is a huge network of liars.
Facebook is awesome.
I hated Twitter so much, I quit it.

Debbie said...

I don't really understand Twitter either. I want to, I really do.

Amber Page Writes said...

I love twitter. So much that I have to resist opening it up at work for fear of losing 45 minutes!

Pop and Ice said...

I like Facebook for certain things like posting article links that I think might be of interest to others that I connect with, mostly friends and family. I use Twitter more to keep in touch with my blogger friends that I may only see once or twice a year, yet have similar interests. I admit, I'm a major Twitter fan.

Nicolasa said...

I really don't get Twitter either. It seems creepy that people update it so often with so much detail.

I have something for you on my blog!

Fida said...

FB is private/personal - I meet with family and friends, play some games with them and have fun, meeting old friends I thought I had lost.

I use twitter as a business tool, to promote my website, increase search engine traffic, make new contacts and get the news I am looking for fairly quickly.

Anonymous said...

Well, here comes the real curmudgeon: I neither Facebook nor Twitter.
My time (even at my age) is too precious. Bah humbug.
merthyrmum

SurferWife said...

I hear ya. I don't quite get the glamour of Twitter. Which is a shock since I become addicted to any social network I encounter....I do have an account and never use it.

betty-NZ said...

I think it might be related to the younger generation's way of thinking and keeping in touch. Personally, I only use twitter for BPOTW, when the new list comes out. I have a facebook account, but only because someone invited me!
*blush*

Anonymous said...

The information here is great. I will invite my friends here.

Thanks