Twitter: Jumping the shark or hotter than ever?

Scared....but going to try it!  I am so new to all of this.

Mamabird

http://thetreehuggerspartyguide.com ( http://thetreehuggerspartyguide.com/ )

I'm becoming an addict, too.

Although, there's been discussion about whether it's an important part of one's brand, I say not. However, if someone is 'found' by Twittering, then by all means, I want to be part of the nest.

http://twitter.com/ecstewart 

Lisa, Creative Goddess
----------------------------------------
Creative Goddess ( http://creativegoddess.wordpress.com/ )
CalligraphyPets ( http://www.calligraphypets.com/ )

After Laura's done bending your ear - I'll 2nd and 3rd and Nth everything she's said.

Honestly, Twitter has been life-changing for me as well.  In fact, I wouldn't be going to BlogHer this year if Erin (QueenofSpain) hadn't Twittered me into it last January! :)

Seriously - once you get in the swim, you'll wonder why you ever resisted!  Welcome to Twitter!

Lucretia (aka GeekMommy)

Raising a child in a digital world, still a digital girl

Ha! Good discussion.

I use Twitter for many of the reasons already mentioned. At first I only added it as a way to have a microblog automatically feed into my sidebar for the little things in my day that weren't big enough for a blog post. And then I realized it's social potential. And it's also fabulous for mass meetup situations like SXSW and (I assume) BlogHer (my first time this year).

Also, re: Bright Kite... I am very excited about their technology, it's like a mashup of Twitter and Google Maps. Location based social networking has amazing potential. AND they are a Denver company, so I gotta promote the peeps!

aimee/greeblemonkey
www.greeblemonkey.com ( http://www.greeblemonkey.com )

Well, then, Twitter has definitely jumped the shark.

(I kid!)

Leslie

BlogHer Contributing Editor, Research and Academia ( http://www.blogher.com/topic/research-academia-edu... )
Proprietor, The Clutter Museum ( http://cluttermuseum.blogspot.com )
I also blog at Museum Blogging ( http://www.museumblogging.com/ ) and The Multicultural Toybox ( http://multiculturaltoybox.com )

Welcome to the cult club.  As a new blogger, I recommend Twitter to those who are starting out.  Twitter has been a great tool.  And as all my tweets know I am SOOOO addicted!

~Susan

http://lilmomthatcould.com/

Twitter it is, folks. I'm on as of today. Thanks for the debate!

Lisa Stone
BlogHer Co-founder ( http://blogher.org/member/lisa-stone )
Surfette ( http://surfette.typepad.com )

Twitter has totally changed my life. I'm now more or less living the Truman show, among other things but in a really empowered and astonishing (to me) way. It sent my career THROUGH THE ROOF. I'd LOVE a chance to chat with you at BlogHer and tell you why I think microsharing (it won't end up as just Twitter, any more than email ended up as just AOL Mail) is going to dramatically change others' lives too!

I sound like a frigging evangelist, don't I? But seriously, there is a lot more than meets the eye at how this trend plays out in the future...

http://redcouch.typepad.com/weblog/2008/04/twitter...

It's getting to the point where I sound like an a$$hole if I list all the relationships, business opportunities, conference speaking gigs, book proposal requests etc. that Twitter has brought my way.

Not to put too fine a point on it, I think Twitter is *especially* valuable to women because of the way it integrates into our portable lives, and our much bandied about "natural talents" for building relationships. So, I hope that there is a TON of conversation at BlogHer about putting this power into the hands of all the members, whether it be through Twitter, BrightKite or the microsharing platform of their choice. :-)

The folks who like to complain and pooh-pooh Twitter don't realize that tons of new folks are joining and "getting it" every day. 

Warmly, 

Laura "@pistachio" Fitton

 Twitter has its place............I just can't seem to remember to do it!

Cheryl

http://dailyblonde.blogspot.com ( http://dailyblonde.blogspot.com/ )

I first became involved with Twitter earlier in the year and I credit it for helping me to spread the word when Steak 'n Shake refused to serve me in the drive thru (I couldn't order at the speaker).

As a deaf mom, Twitter provides me the access to "water cooler conversations" that I'm often shut out of when face to face with a group of people chatting.

Karen

 "Life is too short to pout all the time."

A Deaf Mom Shares Her World ( http://www.putzworld.blogspot.com )

Hands & Voices ( http://www.handsandvoices.org )

Twitter's terms of serviceis not so good.

Internet TV delivered to your PC.
TVzation.: www.tvzation.com ( http://www.tvzation.com/ )

 I love social media.  I am addicted to Twitter.  Who knew?  Neighbors don't talk anymore, there is no more sharing a cuppa after walking in the kitchen door.  The Internet is the 21st Century kaffeklatsch.  And I like that.

 TLC

As someone who's not super techy, I get so bummed out by the way things are 'in' one minute and 'out' the next. (Hello, channel Heidi Klum much?)

I just got on Twitter and have been using well to keep in touch (I live overseas) and to direct people towards my writing on line. But now people are saying they are jumping to Plurk (or whatever) and I get bummed that I might have to re-build a following/readership somewhere else, or post on multiple networks, which seems overwhelming and way too pluged-in for me. 

Anyone else have an opinion about what to do regarding the quickly changing trends and tastes in what's in and what's out with social networking? Is it even worth the time?

(Ps. here's a comment I made previously on BlogHer with my tips for using Twitter: http://www.blogher.com/twitter-tweaker-twitter-qui... ( http://www.blogher.com/twitter-tweaker-twitter-qui... ))

Rachelle Mee-Chapman blogs at: http://www.magpie-girl.com ( http://www.magpie-girl.com/ ). http://twitter.com/magpiegirl

( http://twitter.com/magpiegirl )

...but I know that a few of the TOS issues have been dealt with. I know the guy bothering myself and some others was banned, etc.

Politics & News Contributing Editor
Queen of Spain ( http://queenofspainblog.com/ )

Sorry, I dont't want to ruin Twitter for people, but as a women who has dealth with stalking online, Twitter's stand on stalking and their terms of service really, really, really bothers me.  You can read more about it here.:

http://arielwaldman.com/2008/05/22/twitter-refuses...

 Yours, Tracy Viselli (a.k.a. Myrna the Minx)

My Company

Reno Fabulous Media: www.renofabulousmedia.com ( http://www.renofabulousmedia.com )
My Main Blog
Reno and Its Discontents: www.renodiscontent.com ( http://www.renodiscontent.com )

Kidding.

Uh...yeah....I twitter. a *little*/snort

I also find myself brightkiting and friend feeding and uttering and plurking and identi.ca-ing

and other things that I swear are not made up words.

...wait until you see how it's affecting Congress! Post to explain coming shortly. :)

Politics & News Contributing Editor
Queen of Spain ( http://queenofspainblog.com/ )

I use FriendFeed to keep up with the people I want to online as a pretty much one stop shopping solution.  I love the single point of access and sharing control it gives me.   I was not happy to see that Twitter didn't feel it was important to enforce their rules of use in a stalking case. 

Yours, Tracy Viselli (a.k.a. Myrna the Minx)

My Company

Reno Fabulous Media: www.renofabulousmedia.com ( http://www.renofabulousmedia.com )
My Main Blog
Reno and Its Discontents: www.renodiscontent.com ( http://www.renodiscontent.com )

When I first started using Twitter I was so confused as to why anyone would want to use it. I couldn't understand why people would just want to write a 140 character entry to the world. The first time I started using Twitter I quit after about a week or so because I thought it was just rediculous.

After a while of watching very respected people using it I decided to investigate further. The first thing I found out was that Twitter is highly addictive. For some reason telling the world you just eat a sandwich is extremely apealing. 

Then I realized that people love to connect with other people doing the same thing. So pretty much everyone on Twitter has something in common- they all use Twitter. The first time I actually met another twitter user face to face I felt vindicated. My husband and kids could not longer look at me like I was a freak. Well, I guess they still could but now I wasn't the only one freak they knew. 

Another benefit I found in using Twitter is that once you have a lot of followers your tweets actually are actually read. Not all the time but the more you tweet the more your seen. I have over 600 followers, most of which I got from following other people first. Since I am not a "big name", people don't search for me so I follow them first and more than half of the people I follow, follow me back. 

I use Twitter to not only update when I am eating a sandwich but to also let people know what I am reading or watching on the net (using Twitthat), share interesting websites that are useful, publish my blog posts (using Twitterfeed), and announcing news about projects I am involved in. 

I am not just a a Twitter user either. Since I am trying to earn the title of Queen of Social Network Marketing ( http://iwebis.com/category/queen-of-social-network... ), I try an get involved in as many useful social networks as I can. I use hellotxt ( http://hellotxt.com/monawea ) to update my Twitter, Facebook, jaiku, Pownce, Plurk and Tumblr accounts. So I use them all! 

So, as you can see I view Twitter much differently now than when I first discovered it. I have found Twitter to be very useful for networking and brand marketing. 

My Twitter page ( http://twitter.com/monawea )

Ok, I am gonna go Tweet this page now ;o)

monawea (Mona Weathers) is the Founder of HerProBlog.COM ( http://herproblog.com ), a website dedicated to helping women blog professionally. Launching July 15th

I was really impressed with how easy it was to decide what wsa private and what was public. Or at least I think I did it right!

Lisa Stone
BlogHer Co-founder ( http://blogher.org/member/lisa-stone )
Surfette ( http://surfette.typepad.com )

To be honest, I seem to have jumped on the bandwagon.  When I have ADD problems during the day (how can I not, with so much stuff going on?)...I tend to twitter.  But I just found out about BrightKite.com - which will add a geographic component to twittering - and that's really cool.  You have to be invited to join since they're in beta - which is how I heard about it.  But watch for that because your friends can find you (if you want them to) when you're out and about - locally or globally! It's pretty cool. 

Reviews of "must-have" products for mom & baby (and toddlers). Expert articles on pregnancy, health, & Parenting from national leading experts.

And I think it'll be invaluable at the BlogHer Conference for finding people and arranging meetups.

I can barely stand to talk on the phone as I'm not a phone person.  I cannot imagine that I will ever use Twitter.  Who has the time for all that?

LOL at "Fritter." That's so what it is, and yet, I can't tear myself away from it. ;) Seriously though, I have my Twitter highs and my Twitter lows, but I like that it's an instant way to interact with my friends, most of whom I know only virtually. And yes, the micro blogging aspect appeals to me a lot.

Amy
Crunchy Domestic Goddess ( http://crunchydomesticgoddess.com )
BlogHers Act contributing editor ( http://www.blogher.com/special-events/bloghers-act )

I can go days without a twittering. Then I'll twitter all day. Sadly I think how much I twitter is in direct correlation to how bored I am and how lazy I am about doing things around the house. I will admit that when I first snatched on to it my blogger suffered.

As someone who has relocated to a new city I find Twitter really useful for getting the scoop on what's happening in the city and finding out about meet-ups etc - stuff that people don't always blog.

I refuse to sign up for twitter apps that send tweets to my cell phone or IM client or anything that keeps me plugged in to twitter 24-7. I need my unplugged time. And I've given up on staying caught up with those that I follow who twitter all day. I just don't have the time.

Sassymonkey ( http://sassymonkey.ca/ ) and Sassymonkey Reads ( http://sassymonkeyreads.wordpress.com/ ).

Blackbird, you make the only argument for Twitter that I can support, honestly -- that it's for those things that don't make a blog. Like this morning, I pulled into work and laughed out loud when I read the bumpersticker of a car next to mine:

Earl's In the Trunk

Why? Because it taught me that someone else in this sprawling suburban office park (a) loves the Dixie Chicks and (b) damn her hide, she got to go to the tour I missed in 2000. THAT was a twitter.

Yet, Town Crier, I seriously fear the distraction. I'm positively awful at getting to everything as it is. Which is why I call it Fritter. But maybe I'm just jealous that I'm not doing it...

Lisa Stone
BlogHer Co-founder ( http://blogher.org/member/lisa-stone )
Surfette ( http://surfette.typepad.com )

It just clicked with me last week so I hope it's not over!  It certainly isn't a focus for me and what I love about blogs is that they move slowly enough that you can always go back and read things again or read things later.  Twitter moves a bit too quickly for me to feel as if it's a useful medium for following someone's thoughts.  And it's a huuuuuuuuuge distraction.  I'm trying not to leave it on when I'm working, but if I only check in every once in a while, I miss so much.

Venting about infertility since 2006
www.stirrup-queens.blogspot.com ( http://www.stirrup-queens.blogspot.com )
and we're not talkin' cowgirls...

I love twitter!  Mostly because I can use it to add snippets a) when I'm away from a computer, and b) about stuff that wouldn't warrant a full blog post.

www.mybitofearth.net ( http://www.mybitofearth.net )