22 Mar 2011
I have so far resisted any urge to share my thoughts with the world on Twitter. Because from what I have seen so far, the site contains little but inconsequential drivel which nobody with a normal work/life balance would ever want to waste their time reading in the first place, much less within moments of it being posted.
I realise this makes me sound like a technological dinosaur, but from the conversations I have had with Computing readers on the subject, my views are not unique.
It is obvious how a live tweet from a political demonstration informing the world that the police have just opened fire on an unarmed crowd could be useful, often to an entire country. Though perhaps only to the point where the offending regime cottoned on and sent an engineer round to block the mobile network or switch off the local telco’s router.
But I’m not a foreign or political correspondent, therefore my tweets are likely to be far less ground-breaking. It is hard to imagine what Computing readers would want to hear live from a choreographed press event with an IT company executive reading from a pre-prepared script or showcasing the latest gadget that is only marginally different from the one before.
Nor am I misguided or arrogant enough to believe that there are legions of Computing readers out there hanging on its journalists’ every word. People with real jobs are usually too busy getting on with them to constantly monitor internet newswires, and will happily wait until the end of the day or the next morning, or even the next week to catch up.
Is it enough just to report a few random facts as quickly as possible in the hope that somebody is listening? Or is it the journalist’s job to research and analyse a much broader tranche of detail from multiple sources, then filter out all the rubbish before presenting the finished article to the reader at a later stage when they have more time to digest it?
In fairness, the Twitter story seems never to be about the actual content of the site but only about the use of Twitter itself, which is a classic case of the tail wagging the dog.
However, my employers are now encouraging Computing journalists to showcase our talents using the medium.
Can any readers out there email me with some guidance on what type of information, if any, you would like to read on a Computing Twitter feed? Polite suggestions only, please – PR and IT marketing executives excluded.
It's about who you are following - which is something you control. Just like TV, some of it is great, some of it not. I like Dispatches and Channel 4 news. I don't say that Channel 4 is rubbish because they also show My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding. I just choose not to watch. The same applies to Twitter. If you are following Jonathan Ross and Lilly Allen, you will find your day wasted with inane rubbish. If you are following industry insiders who are linking to interesting stories, and strictly controlling what Tweets you get, then Twitter is fantastic. A lot of people out there have something to gain from your commentary. But, not if you don't post it.
Posted by: Lord Gaga 24 Mar 2011
So after the marketing Andrex puppies have flapped around telling us Twitter is the most insanely great comms tool ever since the last one, now it's the turn of the dissenters to express their doubts. Presumably that means Twitter is on its way to Gartner's slough of despair, from which it will emerge as a useful business tool. Can someone wake me up when it does, please?
Posted by: Alwyn Jones 23 Mar 2011
As Mark Johnson, community editor at the Economist, said at the SMART event in January:
“Too often social media is merely the echo chamber of sound-bites.”
That doesn't mean it doesn't have its uses, but for every nugget there is a slag heap of dross.
Well said Martin. Keep up the in-depth and leave tweeting to the marketeers.
Posted by: Graham 23 Mar 2011
I resisted the use of twitter for some time as l thought the very same thing. I recently started a research degree and it was recommended that I sign up to twitter for info. It has been two weeks and I have made more contact with practitioners in my field that I did in the past six months. Additionally I now get updates as soon as something new happens in my area of study which is usually accompanied by links to more info. All that to say I have found it useful.
Posted by: Kneipha 22 Mar 2011
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