Anyone uses Twitter?

[infonote]

Does anyone use Twitter [twitter.com]? My idea is to form contacts between networks using twitter.

[xort]

is that like myspace or any of the dozen other social networks that i don't use?

[sailingdog]

IIRC, Twitter is supposed to be more dynamic...since it was designed for the mobile phone market, and you're supposed to be able to update it via SMS or MMS.

[infonote]

Originally Posted by xort

is that like myspace or any of the dozen other social networks that i don't use?

Not exactly. It is like SMS. you can write up to 140 characters. You only receive updates about people you decide to follow.

You can receive tweets about topics you like using tweetbeep.com
As an example I made an alert for sailing and received a tweet from a Vendee Globe participant.

Here is an example of a tweet from the vendeeglobe participant.

Twitter / VendeeGlobe

Frustrating morning, but great sailing now - downwind with full main spinnaker and staysail... sun is out .. whoop whoop! 1 day ago from TwitterMail

You can then reply, and he can see your message (like SMS).

As long as you only follow certain people like Vendee Globe, it will be fine I think.

[SEMIJim]

Originally Posted by xort

is that like myspace or any of the dozen other social networks that i don't use?

In that it's a social networking thing: Yes.

The name alone is enough to put me off. C'mon, Twitter?!?! Birds twittering is nice. It's regarded as a sign of vacuousness in human beings. Then there's the root of the word: Twit. I don't know what, if anything, it means elsewhere in the world, but in (most of) the U.S., it's roughly equivalent to "idiot."

No thanks.

Jim

[erps]

Note exactly. It is like SMS. you can write up to 140 characters. You only receive updates about people you decide to follow.

So it's like consensual stalking?

[infonote]

Originally Posted by erps

So it's like consensual stalking?

Not exactly. You can follow a topic. In fact I use it to follow a topic, not a person.

Let's just say you can be up to date and reply (if you want) to people about a topic that interests you.

You can search for 'Vendee Globe'.

vendee globe - Twitter Search

Anyway my original question was if anyone that likes sailing uses it. I am not trying to convince anyone. I do not own Twitter.

[AjariBonten]

More NOISE, in my opinion.

this is why I sail

[mazzy]

I follow twitters regarding my employer. We've caught both good and bad feedback regarding our brands that way, and were able to be proactive. Otherwise, I agree with Jim. too many people involved in broadcasting their own perceived self-importance.
Mike

[CLucas]

Twitter is considered a "micro-blogging" platform -- something else to maintain IMO. I think it's great for getting short updates (called "tweets") from events such as the Vendee Globe, certain industry trade events (Apple Developer's Conferences, etc.) or non-televised sports events. There was a ton of activity going on around election events. Twitter has some stability issues and someone actually went to the trouble of creating http://IsTwitterDown.com (Is Twitter Down?) which gives you an instant status report of the Twitter network.