Are You Screening? - Latest Comments in Why Twitter Is Doomed To Failure

Re: Why Twitter Is Doomed To Failure

Liv — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 17:42:56 -0000

The sentiment that you've expressed is similar to my own. I think, facebooks move to incorporate similar apps has made Twitter useless except for the fact that it's a fad.... and that's the catch... if Twitter evolves why it still has so much momentum, then it could come out on top. I see a perfect match between myspace and twitter....

Re: Why Twitter Is Doomed To Failure

Liv — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 17:42:56 -0000

Re: Why Twitter Is Doomed To Failure

bill_finger — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 00:52:52 -0000

Great article. Depressing, but great. I'm going to Tweet this.

Re: Why Twitter Is Doomed To Failure

bill_finger — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 00:52:52 -0000

Great article. Depressing, but great. I'm going to Tweet this.

Re: Why Twitter Is Doomed To Failure

Dorothy Stahlnecker — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 16:45:37 -0000

Thank you......I can't bring myself to go to twitter...I signed and have some followers however have not participated...and I often feel guilty...

Dorothy from grammology

grammology.com

Re: Why Twitter Is Doomed To Failure

Dorothy Stahlnecker — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 16:45:37 -0000

Thank you......I can't bring myself to go to twitter...I signed and have some followers however have not participated...and I often feel guilty...

Dorothy from grammology

grammology.com

Re: Why Twitter Is Doomed To Failure

Film-Book dot Com — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 14:04:24 -0000

Great article.

I guess I am a "do nothing".

I use Twitter mostly to promote my posts and see what other people are writing about. I don't go around adding everybody like a tool-bag. There is actually a plug-in or program where you plug in parameters and it will actually befriend people that meet your criteria on Twitter. I've never used it but I have the site and the program saved...just in chance.

Re: Why Twitter Is Doomed To Failure

Film-Book dot Com — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 14:04:24 -0000

Re: Why Twitter Is Doomed To Failure

StarMars (StarMars) — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 18:53:15 -0000

Why Twitter is doomed to failure - http://tinyurl.com/a433b9

Re: Why Twitter Is Doomed To Failure

StarMars (StarMars) — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 18:53:15 -0000

Why Twitter is doomed to failure - http://tinyurl.com/a433b9

Re: Why Twitter Is Doomed To Failure

billsimmon (Bill Simmon) — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 20:54:00 -0000

@CaseyContrarian Check out this discussion for more Twitter musings: http://tinyurl.com/a433b9

Re: Why Twitter Is Doomed To Failure

billsimmon (Bill Simmon) — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 20:54:00 -0000

@CaseyContrarian Check out this discussion for more Twitter musings: http://tinyurl.com/a433b9

Re: Why Twitter Is Doomed To Failure

areyouscreening — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 12:13:28 -0000

I wonder about that myself as well. Right now it probably isn't too big a deal for many, but how about when they start getting 100s of @s a day?

Re: Why Twitter Is Doomed To Failure

areyouscreening — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 12:13:28 -0000

I wonder about that myself as well. Right now it probably isn't too big a deal for many, but how about when they start getting 100s of @s a day?

Re: Why Twitter Is Doomed To Failure

Bill Simmon — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 10:52:42 -0000

It's funny, now that I think about it, there is one way in which Twitter certainly can't last. You mentioned getting an @reply from Neil Gaiman (yes, that's very cool). There are what, 3 or 4 million users on Twitter right now? And most of them don't actually actively use it. We're in this early-adoption phase when it's still possible to have actual back-and-forths with celebrities -- sort of like blogging was in 2002 -- except actual celebs (as opposed to just internet celebs) are using Twitter (I follow John Cleese, David Lynch, several Next Gen cast members and a bunch of minor celebs & internet celebs, for example). So the cocktail party is being attended by some really cool, inspiring, exciting people, who are engaged in conversations that we can listen to and even chime in on if we so choose. I wonder if once the number of Twitter users gets up over 20 million or so how that dynamic will change.

Re: Why Twitter Is Doomed To Failure

Bill Simmon — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 10:52:42 -0000

Re: Why Twitter Is Doomed To Failure

areyouscreening — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 02:28:33 -0000

Wow, many points.

First, I didn't take you as being flip really. I only thought, "agh... that's not what I mean."

I think I'm with you very much insofar as people asking what it's "for" except in this sense...

Asking what a cocktail party is for is absurd largely because you already know what a cocktail party is for, if you catch my meaning. But, try and imagine getting people to your cocktail party when instead of saying cocktail party you're saying Twitter, or Jutenhoop, or Gifletesnog, or anything else that means nothing at all to them.

I completely agree that Twitter not only has value, but it also has use and real power. Hell, Neil Gaiman @ed me today... how cool is that?

What I mean by it not being able to go on, is that it uses resources and has no revenue stream, and doesn't have a real good way to get the uninitiated into the fold.

A whole lot of people can make the leap, and it honestly isn't difficult, but there needs to be someway to get more people to care about making the leap.

It's growing, and it is doing fine (in some sense), but it seems to be growing in a way that taxes resources without adding to revenue potential.

I humbly suggest that I mean that Twitter is doomed to failure in perhaps much the same way that Jonathan Swift meant we should eat babies.

I don't think it is going to fail, but I think it is in for some hard times ahead if more people somewhere don't try to give people an idea of what there is to get out of it.

Also, I rather agree about Problogger and similar. Although, at the same time, part of what I think is great about Twitter is that you can make your own world out of it, and there are a lot of different ways to get your own personal value out of it.

And, yes, it was a great movie... that's why I picked it!

If you wanted to do me a great favor, you could put me on some manner of reminder list for next year's festival. As I'm actually relatively close, I'd love to attend.

I greatly appreciate the time you took commenting.

Cheers.

Re: Why Twitter Is Doomed To Failure

areyouscreening — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 02:28:33 -0000

Re: Why Twitter Is Doomed To Failure

Bill Simmon — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 01:36:08 -0000

Marc, I left the following reply under the post at my blog. Thanks for commenting. I'm leaving it here too for the sake of the discussion continuity over here... Cheers.

Damn. Burned by that whole interactive part of interactive media. I have to keep reminding myself that my offhand snarky comments can be read by people I’m commenting about!

Mark, sorry if I came off as flip about your piece. It came last in a series of links I’d seen recently that were highly critical of Twitter and to be fair, yours was far and away the best of the lot (in that it’s clear you’ve actually spent time using it and thinking about it!).

Now that I’m shamed into giving something of a thoughtful critique, I’ll say I disagree with your premise — that Twitter can’t stay as it is now and succeed. What it is now may not be immediately evident to the uninitiated or may seem silly and pointless to many, but it has value all the same. Twitter is just a way of socializing. Asking what it’s “for” (not you, but those who do ask this question) is like asking what a cocktail party is “for.” The question is absurd. Twitter is for Twittering, and that has its own value.

I was at SXSW when they launched Twitter and I stood there in the beer tent chatting with my friends about what a dumb idea it seemed like and why was everyone so crazy about it? Now its a significant part of my low-level socializing on a daily basis. And if a numbskull like me can make that leap, a whole lot of other people can too, without much hand-holding.

As an aside, I find advice like Problogger’s about leveraging Twitter for marketing purposes to be missing the point almost as much as people who think it’s just a Facebook status rival, but that’s another thread.

Also, Let the Right One In was one of the best films last year. My review of it is here: http://www.vtiff.org/blog/let-the-right-one-in

Thanks for commenting!

Re: Why Twitter Is Doomed To Failure

Bill Simmon — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 01:36:08 -0000

Re: Why Twitter Is Doomed To Failure

areyouscreening — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 14:34:50 -0000

Pretty harsh commentary.

On the other hand, one of the great things about Twitter is that there is no particularly "there" where you have to live.

Thanks for the comment.

Re: Why Twitter Is Doomed To Failure

areyouscreening — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 14:34:50 -0000

Pretty harsh commentary.

On the other hand, one of the great things about Twitter is that there is no particularly "there" where you have to live.

Thanks for the comment.

Re: Why Twitter Is Doomed To Failure

areyouscreening (areyouscreeni — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 00:37:54 -0000

@DavidPogue http://tinyurl.com/a433b9 another reply to your twitter post

Re: Why Twitter Is Doomed To Failure

areyouscreening (areyouscreeni — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 00:37:54 -0000

@DavidPogue http://tinyurl.com/a433b9 another reply to your twitter post

Re: Why Twitter Is Doomed To Failure

Paul Baines — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 20:14:24 -0000

I've hooked up my blog posts on Twitter - those who are bothered can see a snippet of what I've written - i follow people If I find their blogs interesting and if the owners are desperate for me to, but essentially it's just another promotional tool. I would say this though - if Twitter was a country I wouldn't want to live there ;)