Twitter is back.
Not that it went anywhere, like poor old MySpace. But tweeps have realised they needed to exercise a little patience before getting the hang of it. Social media has its drawbacks. But it鈥檚 here to stay, embrace it.
I鈥檝e been tweeting again for about a month now, with around 30 followers. Go me! Unless you have a wider public profile, you can probably forget about having thousands of friends to brag about. With Facebook, you鈥檙e usually 鈥榝riends鈥� because you have some association. With Twitter, you probably need to have something to offer.
Expectations are higher.
Posting things like 鈥渢ired, but going to the gym鈥� won鈥檛 cut it. Unless you鈥檙e Ashton Kutcher or Justin Bieber, who could invariably make a fart 鈥榯rend鈥�.
There鈥檚 no pressure to attract 鈥榣ikes鈥� or commentary to avow your virtual popularity. Be irreverent and say what you like. I try and keep it to interesting people, so can often be sprung enjoying an iLOL on the sly, or savouring my own digital mirth.
People who criticise Twitter 鈥� with no real experience of it 鈥� are showing their ignorance.
Notwithstanding tedious celebs, it鈥檚 an ingenious and simple tool. Just look at the resources that鈥檇 be otherwise unavailable to rural GLBTI youth, for example. Reliable news updates pop up in our Twitter streams long before making mainstream news. Absorbing the associated opinions is also kind of awesome.
Social media makes the world a smaller place.
Fans enjoy more intimate connections with stars, and people love that their idols can see what they鈥檝e said. Personally, it鈥檚 also a buzz winding up the homophobic Westboro Baptist Church ratbags. They don鈥檛 respond well to logic. But that鈥檚 another story.
Don鈥檛 spam people and don鈥檛 take yourself too seriously. Include links or pics and don鈥檛 be afraid to start a conversation. If you have a flair for self-deprecating humour, your Twittersphere awaits. Sometimes, diarising an internal monologue is all it takes.
Q&A is a kicker on Mondays. Twitter makes everyone more accessible. It also gives people a voice. How many are listening may be another matter entirely. But who cares? That鈥檚 the beauty of it.
I beep everywhere I go 鈥� every few minutes. It鈥檚 cool. It鈥檚 鈥榬esearch鈥�. I鈥檓 speaking the tweet. I鈥檇 say don鈥檛 encourage me, but it鈥檚 probably too late for that.
Word to the wise though 鈥� avoid 鈥榤ultitasking鈥� with apps like Grindr while you鈥檙e texting or emailing your Easter wishes to the family. The last thing you want is to inadvertently ask your dad for a cock shot.
info: Don鈥檛 forget to follow SSO at @star_observer and Damien @damientweeting
oh and yes please keep it up with that Westboro Church lot on Twitter Damian ! They are such a disgrace Love ya work !
Bahahaha !!! I just nearly spat my coffee out when I read the last sentence ! Everyone wanted to know what was wrong but like I could read that out aloud with my narrow minded boss in earshot lol
I am loving your tweets on Twitter too :-)
I feel the main concern with new media is that it can facilitate irresponsible public commentary, to be used as a PR tool, as we just saw with homophobe Jim Wallace from the so called Christian Lobby. Social media needs to be held more accountable !