That is the question these days, isn’t it?
It seems like everyone I know has gotten on board the Twitter bandwagon. Every day I see more friends on Facebook posting statuses announcing their virgin tweets.
I have to confess, I’m not sure if I’m ready yet to take that plunge.
Sure, I like knowing what my friends are doing. I’m nosy like that. That’s why I stalk my friends on Facebook. But my voyeuristic side could beat up my exhibitionist side. I’m sure I would do much more following than leading, and that would sort of defeat the purpose, wouldn’t it?
Besides the fact that complete strangers can follow you, as opposed to only your friends, I’m not sure I understand how Twitter is different from Facebook. I mean, a tweet is just an update of what you’re doing at the moment. How is that different from a Facebook status? It all seems a bit redundant.
That said, while Facebook is reserved for people I have actually met in person, it’s not as if the rest of the world won’t know what’s going on with me. That’s what this little corner of the internet is for.
Having once hijacked a friend’s Twitter account, I did notice something troublesome: the manner in which one searches for people. It seems that unless you know a person’s username, you’re out of luck. Real names seem to mean diddly-squat. Case in point: I searched for someone by name, and I know for a fact that this person has a Twitter account. Twitter pulled up no matches. What’s the point in searching by name if the name you enter doesn’t matter? Not having a way to search by email address without actually inviting that person isn’t exactly helpful, either.
In any case, I fear the possibility, nay, likelihood that any tweets made by me would quickly degenerate into updates from my phone as I walked through the apartment:
“Standing up now.”
“Tripping over the cat. Why does she always walk directly in front of me?”
“Opening fridge door. Can’t remember why.”
Right. Because you all need to know that.
I’d like to have an open discussion about the merits (or lack therein) of the phenomenon that is Twitter. Do you tweet? Why do you do it? Convince me that it’s a worthwhile use of my time and I’ll consider joining in the fun.
Melodic Insomniac 
May 21, 2009 @ 22:48:33
I tried Twitter. It was ok but after a few days I stopped doing it. I prefer Facebook and find myself wanting to update there before Twitter. I also find it weird that on Twitter they call it “following” it just sounds so creepy. My vote is just stay loyal to Facebook!
May 22, 2009 @ 00:33:11
Follow me: http://twitter.com/amadolumbajr
May 25, 2009 @ 11:54:17
Twitter vs Facebook. I do both but love FB. I could give Twitter up with no withdrawals at all. I just got on the bandwagon somehow. I also agree that I don’t like people “following” me that I don’t know. I’m not sure how it works. One day I was going to an auction and I put that on there and before you know it, I had tons of auction people following me but I did block them. It was the same with bowling. One night I put I was bowling and I had all kinds of bowling organizations following me. I’m not really sure how it all works. If you can put in “things” in order to follow people or what. I’ve looked for people that I KNOW have Twitter and I can’t find them either so I have no clue how it works.
I do love FB though. I do follow a lot of my fellow bloggers and family who don’t live near me as well as people I see all the time and I love seeing pics and putting a real person to a name from a blog. I love the talking back and forth of FB. With Twitter, you can’t really talk back and forth. I mean you can but I just don’t see the point. Like you, who cares if I open the fridge or trip over my cat.
*shrugs shoulders*
May 26, 2009 @ 10:50:02
i can’t find your email address! will you review a turbo twistie for me? the smooth away went to someone else–i’m so sorry–but i would love you to review the towel thingy. let me know!
May 27, 2009 @ 10:52:08
Eek! Sure, I’d be happy to review the towel thingie. I’ll shoot you an email (I think I’ve got it from your blog).
May 27, 2009 @ 09:39:34
I use both Twitter and Facebook. I like them both and use them both for different reasons. I find myself twittering a lot. I don’t know, I just think it’s neat. 😀
May 28, 2009 @ 10:44:59
Tim has a Twitter account.
May 28, 2009 @ 22:15:16
That might have been reason enough to join.
I see that you have one, too. So does Thom. But none of you have updated in almost a year. So, what’s the point in joining if the people I would be most interested in stalking never give me any stalking fodder?
May 29, 2009 @ 10:22:23
You’re right — Twitter updates are just Facebook status updates, all compiled onto one neat page. In fact, that’s exactly how I describe Twitter to people! I have Twitter (and have updated more than 600 times… holy crap) but honestly, I’m not sure why I do it! Like a lot of things I do, I think it ties into my narcissism! haha. Seriously, isn’t it sort of self-absorbed to believe that people actually care what I, Megan in Maryland, am doing at this very moment? And yet, I update. And update. And can’t really justify why.
Jun 03, 2009 @ 00:38:55
You can combine Twitter/FB updates so then you only have to update in one place. Twitter is cool because it’s kind of like ESP. I use it to follow the local news station, the local sustainable food organizations, and things that are of interest to me. I hear the news hours before it gets on TV or online via Twitter. It’s actually a pretty powerful tool if you find ways other than “I just went to the bathroom” to use it.
Jun 11, 2009 @ 13:58:22
I don’t understand Twitter, I think I’m getting old. Is it just like a series of IM’s on a single topic or simply an endless stream of random-ish connected messages? I just don’t see what good it is, except as a novelty. Bah, Humbug!