Hello world..This is my first post as a social marketing observer. More about me i suppose in the future posts, no better way to know a person than through the passage of time.( and blogs)
Most of you on this humble blog site would recognize it as "that annoying music blog", well it still is; except now i want to annoy most of you further with my "outsights" on stuff that's happening in the world wide web of 2.0.
Plurk is a "free social networking and micro-blogging service that allows users to send updates (otherwise known as plurks) through short messages or links, which can be up to 140 text characters in length.". Sounds alot like Twitter which sounds alot like a talkative friend whispering absolute garbage into your ear all day.
I haven't jumped on this micro blogging bandwagon as most see it as some license for non censored, unrepentant drivel to make your already boring day that much more meaningless with tweets that inspire one to watch their toenails grow.
What possible intelligent reply would you expect from me after you posted " just had a subway.. yumm".
I know i'm ruffling some twitter's plurks at this very moment but let's look at micro blogging in relation with the rest of the free world.
Yes, you can get opinions, answers, meet new friends ( this is debatable if you start questioning what qualifies someone from being a photo on your twitter wall to an actual friend) and importantly, connect with lots of like minded individuals.
But this is where micro blogging stops making sense.
The assumption that keeps twitters plurking is that there is "someone listening." And most often, there is. But WHO are these "someones" and why are they listening? In my brief fling with twitter and even shorter 1 nite stand with Plurk, i've come to the conclusion that aside from some purists, the majority of people involved in micro blogging are using it because they have to. If you are in web 2.0 at all and you don't own a twitter account, god help you with your virtual social standing. Guess who WONT be invited to the next plurk gathering. So, joining and using Twitter/Plurk/watever is really all about " Better to have and not need /use it than to be found out at the next unconference caught with your twitter pants down."
Most of us already spend way too much time glued to our mobile screens and laptop monitors. Lets use micro blogging wisely shall we? it's a great way to get traffic by tweeting updates, it's also fantastic as a broadcast tool for events, gatherings, its superb for asking for directions if you're in a foreign country. It's wonderful for group project live updates and WIP notes. But it is not a validation for you to tell the world how sleepy you are at 4pm in the afternoon!
Remember technology serves us. Not the other way around. If you're a web 2.0 junkie, get some help. And lastly, being a twit won't make you a "cooler geek" you plurk. Now, how do i convert this whole article in 140 characters?
4 months ago
4 comments :
Hahaha, well done. I read this in my feeds and didn't know it was you, I bookmarked it before seeing it's your blog. AHAHAH Success!
I think there's no specific 'right' way of using micro-blogging tools very much like how blogs are used in a variety of situations.
I still have a long way to understanding the use of such tools for personal branding and sharing of useful information, but I think it's important to remember that in the more primitive days, the Net and it's tools were as much about collective learning as it was about individual expression. Whether it's asking a crowd, "What's your favourite coffee?" or telling people how sleepy he is, both 'expressions' engage a different type of audience.
The onus is now on the individual to 'follow' the type of people who provide them with the type of content they want to see. The beauty of the web today is it's relatively unrestricted ability for content creation coupled with the power to the individual to filter what he actually wants to see.
All that said, some people want to build an audience. Others just want to make casual friends.
Hi Ridz, great insight. I agree totally that the onus goes back to the individual to choose the tweets he finds worthwhile. Perhaps i stand more with Al Gore who mentioned recently that web 2.0 needs to have a purpose.
Micro blogging is a great broadcast tool but perhaps because it's free , is more susceptible to "indiscriminatory tweeting" which can dilute the higher usefulness or social purpose of the platform (IMO)
But that being said, you have a definite point of view on different peeps having different strokes and i certainly wouldnt want to demean anyone who uses Twitter to express their own individuality.
Thanks for commenting Ridz. Hope to see you back here again.
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