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Twitter is everywhere. You'd think it was an iPhone or Google, its in the news so much. People like me are writing about the basics of tweeting, social activists are using Twitter to raise money for good causes, Dawn Foster will help you harness it to get the most out of SXSW. Every little rumor about Twitter makes the headlines. Twitter has reached the tipping point and an avalanche of tweets are tumbling down upon us.
Twitter is often called a micro-blogging tool. Indeed, some users that I follow go to events and tweet numerous times about something going on there. If all the tweets were combined into one blog post, they would be of substantial size. I've done that myself at events.
Is that a replacement for blogging? Is Twitter something you do in addition to blogging, or something you do instead of blogging?
Is Twitter the blog killer, or is Twitter empowering the blogosphere?
I know what I think, (I think it's empowering) but I'd like to hear what you think. Many BlogHers were early adopters on Twitter. Many BlogHers have used Twitter to do some creative and exciting things. Many BlogHers have thought in depth about Twitter. On the other hand, many BlogHers regard Twitter and just one more complication in an already too busy life. What do you think Twitter is to the blogosphere?
Nancy Baym at Online Fandom, in Blogs vs. Twitter? It's the Interactivity, said,
Twitter isn’t a substitute for blogging. Some people may choose to Twitter instead of blogging, but I wouldn’t assume that anyone has that kind of either/or relationship. A tweet is not meant to accomplish what a blog post is meant to accomplish. Neither’s killing the other, they aren’t in competition anymore than, oh, say writing books vs. writing a blog.
. . .
Twitter is about banter. That banter is the best part. I’ve written this blog for a few years and I’ve talked to lots of bloggers. Getting people to post comments is hard. Getting conversation going is harder. The majority of things I write here get no response at all. On Twitter I don’t get responses to everything I say, but I sure get a lot more fast feedback than I do here. It’s also a lot easier to make a quick response to someone else — much more so than commenting on a blog post, especially if, like me, you read your blogs through an RSS reader. That back and forth makes me want to keep participating in Twitter. In comparison, blogging feels like a solitary endevour.
At Experiments in Mediocrity, we see I Don't Feel Like Blogging, No Sir, No Blogging Today, a fairly lengthy post that explains,
Twitter has totally spoiled me, even more than all the people who ever called me wordy put together. So I just sort of want to blog in short sentences anymore.
This announcement is followed by a series of pithy sentence that get random very quickly and carry a tweet-like subliminal impact in their very randomness.
How about your experience? Does Twitter mean less blogging for you? Does it mean more aimless time at the computer when you should be exercising or cooking a healthy meal? What about Twitter?
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Virginia DeBolt
BlogHer Technology Contributing Editor
Web Teacher
First 50 Words
