Tweet Much?

Twitter is a funny thing. I’ve been a member since November and have even occasionally logged on but have not exactly been an avid ‘tweeter’ shall we say. I’ve never really seen the point unless you’re a business or newspaper promoting something or revolutionaries trying to contact each other when the government has closed all other methods of communication. I’ve always taken the ‘He who tweets is a...’ well I’m sure you can guess what goes there but I try to avoid profanity on the internet.

When I first heard about people who ‘tweet’, I always saw them as self-involved and pretentious, giving the world the most mundane details of their lives when it was highly likely that the world doesn’t care.

I personally don’t see the ubiquitous presence of technology in modern everyday life as too much of a problem. I don’t believe those dire warnings that instant messaging and email are preventing the world communicating face to face. However there is a limit to its usefulness if you really think about; sure its great to let your friends know how you’re doing every now and again but do they really need a blow by blow account of every menial part of every day of your life?

However over the past few days, I have found myself drawn in by this weird little world of cyber sound bites from people I don’t know. It’s odd how things could suddenly become addictive. Its a similar thing with Facebook, I didn’t join until the beginning of 2009 because I really didn’t see what the fuss was all about but now I check my Facebook at several times a day if I’m around a computer. There is no real point to it, it just has become a habit and I honestly couldn’t tell you why it is so...absorbing.

I do see the merit in Facebook as a way to keep in touch with your friends but with Twitter you are just one of a faceless mass of people so where is the social part of this type of social networking? You could see Twitter as another platform for posting a Facebook update without annoying your friends by clogging up their news feeds and looking incredibly sad as if you have nothing better to do all day except sit refreshing Facebook every five minutes. Yet still, have we got to the point collectively as a society where we are sad enough to spend our entire lives on Twitter.

Well, it remains to be seen if I can be converted. As I’m only beginning to use Twitter properly it may be a while before I truly understand its purpose. Still you can follow me on Twitter if you like at CJMortimer if you think I will have anything remotely interesting to say.

As for the people I’m following; the Guardian and the Independent, the cast of Glee and rather randomly the English language Twitter account of the Kremlin. I suppose I’ve never know what the Kremlin was up to without Twitter so I guess I should be grateful. Then again, I now know what the Kremlin want me to believe they’re up to when its likely that even most Russians don’t know the truth.

I should add that to the list of what Twitter is good for: propaganda.