Twitter -- Yea or Nay?

[themikenesedude]

Hi!
Both Joe Hill (@joe_hill) and Naomi King (@revnaomi) have a Twitter account. So do Peter Straub (@peterstraubnyc) and his daughter (@emmastraub). Plus, there are several interesting accounts for Constant Readers such as the Bangor Daily News, The Maine Campus, or Scribner Books.
Dirk.

Thanks! I am always looking for literary Twitter accounts. I usually block/ignore "internet marketers" even if they're reputable, because "internet marketer" these days is a title with as bad a stigma as "concert/club promoter". Unfortunately, there are so many new followers on Twitter boasting about how you too can supposedly make a million on hour just by sitting on your arse.

Twitter = Texting, With, Idiotic, Total, Trash, Everywhere, Remotely

But seriously, why would I waste my time with this application? I mean do I REALLY want to know what (said movie star, song writer, singer, etc) had for breakfast, when he/she had a cup of coffee, or even better when he/she woke up? I think it's just another useless piece of software to subliminally make us use our cell phones, computers and keep us chained to them 24/7.
I have an account and after a day, I thought it was useless and I don't use it anymore, nor do I see myself ever using it in the coming future.
My suggestion...don't use it.
Best,
Bal

The trick on Twitter is to find a network that you can relate to and follow their relevant tweets. I started by following a handful of anarchistic discordians and now I have around 4000 followers. None of the first people I followed had anything boring to tweet.

I have more problems with the Twitter people who are just really depressed and lonely and desperate for attention. (There are some that are totally like that on Youtube.) Of course not everyone on social networks is like that. Due to the internet, though, some very boring people with major lack of self-esteem have a voice.

I'm just polite to them and pretend that I've heard of their band or movie that doesn't exist and that no-one has heard of.

But it's the ones that treat me like an internet celebrity (instead of the normal, lower-middle-class guy I am) that really make me run away from there! :P

[herbertwest]

Stephen King is not on twitter, but i am.
I share news about Stephen King, as well as quotes for instance
http://twitter.com/ClubStephenKing

(@ClubStephenKing )

Do not hesitate to follow me :-)

[Kahllie]

I don't "put out" much personal information. Some who have read something I've posted or seen my album may get a bit of an idea of what I am like as a person, or may misinterpret it entirely if they have not taken the time to chat with me personally.
On the Net, you don't know who you are chatting with...your future best Net friend or a Net-using Fiend who wants to target you, your family, or your home for less than honourable purposes.
I don't find the social blogging networks appealing. I have nothing of worth to offer. If I blogged, the nation would have a healthcare crisis of people keeling over their keyboards bored to absolute death.

[bobledrew]

I manage my personal account as well as a couple of other accounts.

There are a couple of things that Twitter does incredibly well.

1. Virality. A message posted on Twitter by the right person can become incredibly distributed in a VERY short time. For example, the first pictures of the plane that landed in the Hudson were disseminated on Twitter, and they "broke" the news.

2. Assess what's happening. As a PR guy I can see what people are talking about using Twitter's search tools.

3. Share information via links among friends. If I see something interesting online, I grab the link, use a service like bit.ly to shorten the URL, and pass it on.

4. Get advice or recommendations instantly. I can put out a tweet saying "Macbook or Macbook Pro?" or "What do people think of this restaurant?" or "Which digital SLR should I get?" and get all kinds of instant feedback, links, etc. REALLY useful.

Finally, Twitter is an odd mix of public and private conversation. Certainly, some people won't find it interesting, but I think it's one of the most useful and entertaining social media tools out there.

[swiftdog2.0]

A big NAY for me.

IMHO, Twitter= L-A-M-E

Why should anyone care what anyone else is doing, where they are going, who they are with, what they ate or when they had their last bowel movement...............

If I cared to know any of that I would physically talk to that person *gasp*

Of course that's just my opinion and I could be wrong

[a million fireflies.]

Twitter is for people who have a little bit too much free time on their hands . I don't mind a bit of facebook now and again but I really don't care about other people so much that I want to know what they are eating and when they are going to bed.....Brings the world back to a place where people are selfabsorbed. It's always been that way but now it's worse cause they can actually make it vocal and they get reaction. Ah, maybe I just didn't sleep well last night

[SharonC]

I am terribly old fashioned, people. This board is the only place I interact with people at all, and I only joined the Board because of our mutual interest in Mr. King's work. I don't own a cell phone. I know they are a necessity for some people - don't get me wrong. Personally, I think that they are overused and bring out the rudeness in so many people. And texting? Don't get me started on that. My daughter has a cell phone and constantly texts her friends. She never uses it to make a call. What did we do before they came along? We found a pay phone. I don't have an account on My Space, Facebook or any other social networking sites. Why would people I don't know be remotely interested in my vacation photos? If someone wants to see them, I will gladly send them an e-mail attaching several. Therefore, I don't tweet! I never will. See, told you I was old fashioned. I'm surprised that I use a computer and good old e-mail!