Is your life really better for being Twittered? - Telegraph:
"I can see that Twitter is a useful tool for genuinely breaking news, as during the terrorist attacks on Mumbai, but it is somewhat less compelling when charting the minutiae of daily life. Our parents' generation made do with a handful of curling photographs, letters, and their memories. Now, every tiny happening can be instantaneously logged and broadcast: 'Finding time to put the rubbish out!' people tweet, or 'Just enjoying a glass of champagne in the sun!'"
I suspect the author in question is yet to have that 'ah-ha, that's an interesting use' moment with regards using Twitter because she's certainly neglected to consider it as being anything other than a means to broadcast. For me, it's a useful place to see what's going on with colleagues, whether they're ones I see on a day-to-day basis to those who work in remote locations or simply in the same field as me. It's a useful place for a bit of occasional chit-chat / banter to break up an otherwise intense day. It's a useful place to explore ideas / concepts in a manner which forces you to be concise and clear about your writing style. It's a useful place to pick up links and resources. It's a useful place to make connections. It's a useful place to quickly canvas opinion. It turns out, it's just a useful place.
Two years ago, I had the exact same reaction. Why bother? Who cares? But... it's one of those things. Shift your mindset and you might find that it could become a useful place for you too. Y'never know. Transmission-only, it ain't.
