If you’ve recently visited Twitter.com to see what all the fuss was about, chances are you left a little underwhelmed. Or maybe, amid all the peer pressure, you signed up for an account, gave it a shot and never experienced that “ah ha” moment every Twitter advocate in your circle said you would. You may have even come to the conclusion that you’re just not narcissistic enough.
If any of these scenarios describes you, you’re certainly not alone. For the reasons why, one need look no further than the question asked of all new Twitter users (“What are you doing?”)
The assumption by the uninitiated is that Twitter is indeed a narcissistic endeavor. Check out this video for what I’m driving at. It’s been circulating the web for a while. I first saw it a couple of months ago. I suspect you’ll laugh watching it, but it’s not even close to resembling how the majority of us use, and find value in, Twitter.
Okay, I too laughed at the video. After all, I don’t mind being the butt of anyone’s joke. But I will say it’s too bad people insist on making fun of something they obviously don’t understand.
But the blame lies with Twitter. The question the founders (@ev and @biz on Twitter) ask of all new users, and the fact they’ve not bothered to update it to reflect how Twitter is used by most today, is short-sided at best. They again participated in diminishing the experience, in my view, when they did this. I won’t even go into the day-to-day Twitter patterns of the entire Twitter crew.
Don’t let that deter you though. If you’ve given up on Twitter, or never gave it a shot in the first place, I encourage you to do so for the reasons I’m about to state:
I would argue I’ve learned more and discovered more since joining Twitter than anytime in my life before that, and that includes having earned a business degree from one of the top 20 business schools in the country and the 22 years I’ve spent in broadcasting (and I’ve been on Twitter less than 10 months).
I’ve conversed with CEOs and many others I never otherwise would’ve been able to reach. I’ve picked the brains of authors, business people, social media gurus, successful non-profit consultants and others from all over the world who have greatly enhanced my life. And my experience is anything but unique.
In fact, if I were forced to funnel my entire web experience through Twitter and nothing else, I wouldn’t blink. I’ll go so far as to say my surfing would not be diminished in the slightest. My Twitter home page (essentially my own customized news feed) is filled with interesting links, unique insights and often valuable life lessons, as are the home pages of so many others on Twitter.
Ignore Twitter if you wish, but realize you do so at your own peril. When it comes to your next job interview, you may find yourself competing against a graduate of “Twitter University.” My money will be on them.
Filed under: Social Media, Twitter, Web 2.0 | Tagged: Biz, Ev, Twitter | Leave a comment »
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