Comments on: 15 Reasons Twitter Must Die

By: Agitationist

Agitationist — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 17:50:51 +0000

DE: Some good points, some weak. I put our scores about even. Not sure how you worked classism and sexism into this though.
In any case, I think you’re talking about the Twitter that should exist, not the one that actually does. If we could see a word cloud of all Twitter conversations at a given moment, I think we’d both be pessimistic about humanity’s future.
However, I’m surprised at your elitism regarding MySpace. Don’t your arguments about Twitter apply there as well?
Also, since you appear to be British, I’m obligated to inform you that “Californian” is actually a clichéd term without real meaning.

Enjoyed your blog.

By: DE

DE — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 17:02:24 +0000

To be honest, I assume this post is just an attempt at humour;the attempt to knock twitter using the classic “why do the lower classes need telephones?” argument of the 1920s.

However, you were requesting refutation. OK.

1. What you had for lunch is unlikely to be zeitgeist illuminating, but what you are reading or working on might be. Certainly, how you are escaping Mumbai was certainly of interest to many.

Your argument is based on the idea that people will join a micro blogging medium – then abuse it. Not true.

2. Twitter has its own http://twitter.com/tencommandments concerning “conversations”. Again, you assume everyone is incapable of using the service properly.

3. Because the service is open, it can be improved. Hence apps like Tweetdeck. The point is, Twitter is a service, not a website.

4. “I have written a long letter because I did not have time to write a short one”. Yes, brief writing is a skill. And yes, like a journalist you live first, report later.

5. I think “tweet” is self-deprecating enough.

6. The rate of Twitter growth does not support your point now, does it?

7. I don’t like the term “following” either. But I know what they are getting at, so that’s fine for now.

8. Overshare! How very Californian. Probably a habit that Twitter is riding, not the other way around. Maybe a touch of sexism too?

9. “Micro-blogging” was never going to catch on as a term. Should die this year.

10. And Google is a toy too. Right.

11. I don’t know anyone who would use a social medium before calling the cops!

12. Yup, oversharing has a real downside. Now that is a debate.

13. Yeah, the money stuff is circular and pointless. It should be, but can’t be, free.

14. No I haven’t looked at MySpace. Ever.

15. Open communcation is usually a good thing. Sadly, you get what you put in, so its not great for sociopaths.

By: Selig

Selig — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 22:15:53 +0000

jwalker: true, you do not claim that anyone is *forced* to make bad choices. But isn’t it the bad choices that should be criticized instead of the possibility to choose?

Twitter provides us with a possibility to make stupid choices, yes, undoubtedly — but so does the entire web (and even life as such). Does that make the entire web (or life) something negative?

By: Ari Herzog

Ari Herzog — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 17:57:22 +0000

Hi whatever your name is and whoever you are on Twitter, but like Phil, thanks for linkbaiting me.

Since you took the time to post a comment on my blog, I figured I owe you a response in return.

1. I don’t want to know what you’re doing, either. I want to know what you’re accomplishing, what links are valuable to you, which people are insightful to you, how you feel about marketing and networking, and other bits.

2. If you don’t like the verb, “to tweet,” do you have an alternative that is short and succinct? I’m all ears. “to twitter message” doesn’t have the right ring.

3. On Twitter, one opts to follow another. It’s not a forced decision. And there’s no rule you have to tweet to your followers; you can have a follower base of zero and tweet to yourself, but where’s the value in that?

4. Follow me at http://twitter.com/ariherzog if you want. My tweets are far different in style and purpose than Shaq’s.

By: Agitationist

Agitationist — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 17:08:43 +0000

Selig: Twitter encourages short attention span thinking, lousy communication, and pointless conversation.
Imagine if we had this awesome new tool that connected everybody and was instantaneous, but…you could only write in haikus. It would be a fad for a while, and then find its natural place as a toy.
No one has refuted a single point above, or pointed out what twitter can do which can’t be done elsewhere. It’s a fad, not a tool.
For crying out loud, everyone’s going apeshit on the web because Twitter just got a search function. A search function! Web 3.0 here we come!

By: Phil Baumann

Phil Baumann — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 14:24:35 +0000

Thanks for the linkbait. Feel free to use the comments section of blogs to linkbait and contribute nothing. I know I can always use a journey back to 2002.

You’re right about Twitter. All 15 points, except #9. Kinda lame (but that’s OK, we all have our moments of lame.)

Since you took the time to write 15 reasons why Twitter sucks, could you think of 1 reason why Twitter might be a game-changer? It’s frivolous and stupid. No doubt about it. But so is Google. Curious, that’s all.

You should be on Twitter more often. I’m a Jackass on Twitter mostly, so why not join the Jacasssing? I just followed Selig; looks like a smart man and probably is mature enough to enjoy Twitter’s frivolity.

If you want me to re-tweet the post, @ me @PhilBaumann.

By: Agitationist

Agitationist — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 12:18:49 +0000

Selig: Nowhere do I claim that anyone is *forced* to use Twitter. It is a *choice* like everything else. My argument is that it’s not a good choice.
Phil: I like your attitude! Especially the 2002 bit. I posted a response on your blog.
Ari: Thanks for calling me a “dolt” on your Twitter feed. That’s a high compliment from someone who micro-blogs about watching the “Garfield” the movie. And thanks for linking here as well.

By: Selig

Selig — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 11:06:33 +0000

Oh yes. And I can be found at @selig

By: Selig

Selig — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 11:05:38 +0000

While I do agree that certain aspects of Twitter can be questioned, I find it an invaluable tool to stay connected with people you care about (but do not have time to constantly text with) or getting connected with new people.

Several of your points ARE valid, but they can be avoided by simple and common-sense methods for usage: surely, public bathrooms should not have glass walls, but no one is *forcing* anyone to actually share whatever comes into your mind? — Twitter is giving us the tool to tweet from the loo (or from anywhere else) but with some common sense, we can choose not to use it for oversharing…