Sunday, October 16, 2011

Twitter Is Weird.

Monday Listicles time again.  Jacqui at Chicktuition chose today's theme: Guilty Pleasures.  Since I have too many guilty pleasures to list in one little blog post, I thought I'd focus on particular pleasure I have been enjoying lately.  And it's definitely a guilty one, since my free time seems to disappear into its big black hole, never to be seen again.

You may remember back in May?  When I joined Twitter?

Yeah, well, since then, I've sent out 2, 535 tweets... okay, make that 2, 542 tweets.  What? I had to respond to some @ mentions!  And since May I've also had a huge education in Twitter, tweeting, tweeps, twitpics, Tweetdeck, twitter parties...  And I've discovered that twitter world is like some kind of alternate universe where pretty much anything goes, except spam.


So, without further ado, I give you ten reasons why twitter is both weird and wonderful:

1.  Twitter isn't like real life, where you're ostracized for eavesdropping and butting in to others' conversations at random.  In fact twitter is all about eavesdropping, and when it comes to weighing in and sharing your opinion, the more the merrier. And at the very least, the people you're tweeting will appreciate what the mention does for their Klout score.  When was the last time you felt comfortable adding your two cents to the conversation of some random strangers on the bus?  This is one area in which Twitter has real life beat!

2.  At the same time, though, you don't get to read body language and facial expression to help judge the tone of a conversation, and this can lead to misunderstandings.  Or just worrying that you might have offended someone.  One night, after some pre-bed tweeting, I lay awake worrying that I may have greatly offended the husband of a real-life friend when I teased him about his taste in movies and TV shows.  I'm pretty sure I was over-analyzing and worrying for nothing, but you never know, some people take their films mighty seriously!

3.  And then there was the Friday night I agreed to send a bag of chips to a nice lady I met on Twitter via #wineparty.  She lives in California, and apparently they don't have such exotic chip flavours as Dill Pickle, Ketchup, and All Dressed.  I mean, can you imagine life without All Dressed?  I had to throw her a bone and send her a few packages.  Now her life is complete and she has me to thank for that.  (It's great to be Canadian - why not pay it forward?)

4.  If you don't read the newspaper, watch the news, or read it online, you can always find out what's happening in the world by signing on to Twitter... Who, me? No, of course I wasn't referring to myself. Obviously I read 16 newspapers cover-to-cover every morning!

5.  You can tweet celebrities and people you admire.  They don't have to know you in any way for you to say something to them. But that doesn't mean they actually have to listen to what you are saying.  For example, it's possible that I have, on occasion, tweeted one or two Glee cast members.  No, I didn't receive a response, but they're busy people, you know.

6.  I did, however, use Twitter to commiserate with Amy Beeman, a local radio personality, when she tweeted about raiding her toddlers' snacks to munch on with her wine one evening.  From there, she must have checked out my profile and followed the link to this little blog o' mine, because next thing I know, she's tweeting this post and recommending it to a friend!  To say I was honoured would be a major understatement.

7.  Sometimes you tweet something totally random off the top of your head and get a huge response back, and other times you wait all day to finally tweet something you thought was really clever and it registers nary a blip on the radar.  Twitter is very mysterious that way: it likes to keep you guessing.

8.  If you have a burning question, you no longer need to Google.  No, that would be the old-fashioned way.  Now you can just ask your tweeps and presto! Dozens of opinions that may or may not be helpful or even relate to your original question.  I recommend caution when applying this principle, however.  For example, if your question is of a medical nature, you probably still want to page Dr. Google.  I mean, really, has he ever led you astray before?

9. Through Twitter, I have met some truly amazing, supportive, and talented fellow mommy bloggers. Okay, I'll just come right out and say it: I consider the people who live in my computer to be my friends.  I'm sure that sounds strange to those who don't blog and/or tweet.  But it's true nonetheless.

10. So far, the twitter coup I am most proud of is helping to organize a get-together of some of those lovely mommy bloggers who live in my computer. It started out as a casual mention of holiday travel plans to Vancouver, and spawned from there, and it involves cross-province and even cross-border travel for a few of the attendees, so I've dubbed it The Mother of All Tweet-ups.

So yeah, twitter is a weird, weird phenomenon.  But in all truth, so many great opportunities have come from being connected on Twitter, and I have met some really incredible people. 

And if this list hasn't already convinced you to join Twitter, consider this: No one can poke you incessantly for no reason on Twitter.


34 comments:

  1. Love your post. Love that you got a follow from Amy Beeman, and LOVE all dressed chips! Most of all I love that you came up with #motherofalltweetups - cant wait to see everyone in person!

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  2. This was a really good post. I followed you here from Stasha's tweeting your Monday Listicle link. I'll have to add you to my list of good reads. Does that sound pretentious? I can't sleep and I'm delirious. There may or may not be toddler toes wedged in the fat folds of my thighs.

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  3. You area true Twitter succsess story. From barely joining to organizing the Monther of all tweet ups in a few moths! I personally think there is an episode of Glee dedicated to you in your near future. Of course you will be to busy twitting to watch it.
    Love this list!

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  4. @Bits of Bee Thanks, and I'm REALLY looking forward to it too!

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  5. Love that post too. Ure so witty Amanda! You have made me curious about this twitter world that I have resister joining. Might just have to check out - u make a strong case! x

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  6. @Erica MDoesn't sound pretentious to me at all. But perhaps I'm not the best judge, what with my reading 16 newspapers before breakfast, and all.

    Thanks for taking the time to read my list!

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  7. This is awesome Amanda!! You are SO right! And I also consider my computer friends REAL friends!!
    Some amazing connections have been made :)

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  8. Amanda- Why oh why did you have to write this?? I have been on the proverbial fence about whether to start on twitter and now, you gave me a list of reasons why!! Darn you!
    I will admit, I'm still a little worried about twitter protocol. Is there a twitter for dummies blog somewhere for newbies?

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  9. I don't follow many celebrities, but I've been delighted to receive responses from some of my favorite authors. That alone would've made Twitter worthwhile for me, but as you note? There's so much more!

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  10. @KateYou should! I have tweeted a post or two of yours.

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  11. I really enjoyed reading this about twitter. I am still learning all the twitter rules and lingo but love it so far! I know I need to respond more instead of just reading (stalking) and seeing what others are doing lol...its just so interesting!

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  12. Ah, Twitter. How I love/hate thee. :) No, I could never hate Twitter. I take that back.

    Glad to provide an excuse for the #MotherOfAllTweetups! Wheeeee!

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  13. This? Is perfect for me to make my BFF read who I've roped into starting a food blog and join Twitter. Thanks for explaining all this for me!

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  14. You gotta love twitter...there's nothing like it. How nice are you sending chips to that lady??

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  15. I absolutely adore the Twitter! I've met some of my best friends through the computer.

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  16. hm, good point about the eavesdropping....it really is. which is probably why I have trouble connecting via Twitter. my good country manners forbide me to eavesdrop!
    I gotta get over that...the wine party sounds fun!

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  17. I have sent out over 40,000 tweets in the 10 months I have been on Twitter. It is a whole new world but as you can see I love it.

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  18. I still have a hard time with the whole Twitter thingy. Aside from the positives - real friends found by blogging and still being connected by twitter I find it quite evil. Hence my post on http://www.mamaandthecity.com/2011/09/twitter-is-evil.html

    Cheers,
    www.mamaandthecity.com

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  19. Me too, I was engage with the twitter. I tweet what happen in a day and I also tweet my online business and it help a lot for me to increase traffic in my site. Twitter really works for me :)

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  20. People who are on Twitter, are in for life. People who don't blog or tweet? Just think we're weird :) Great list, Amanda!

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  21. Wow you are my Twitter hero. I will have to check out your mother of all tweets thingie. This is a great list. (-:

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  22. Ha! I assume you mean Mark (on the movie front!) LOL. Twitter really is the Mother of All Guilty Pleasures. They'll have to pry it our of my cold dead hands! (ok virtually anyway). I'm creeping up towards 30,000 tweets for what it's worth. Clearly, I'm not in the same league as Jessica!

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  23. And if it weren't for twitter, the whole Bloggers for Boobies thing wouldn't have happened at this year's Run for the Cure.

    I've been on twitter over three years now, and I love it!

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  24. @StashaIf my story was immortalized in an episode of Glee, I could die happy. I would take a break from tweeting (gasp!) just to watch it.

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  25. I love this post. You summed up Twitter very nicely. I was shocked to learn about twitter jail and what it was.

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  26. @JackieThere are definitely lots of great Twitter how-to resources out there. Or you can just jump in with both feet and learn as you go like I did! :)

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  27. @BestfoodiesYou can learn a lot from lurking/stalking. :)

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  28. @Just JenniferWoot! Did your friend take the bait?

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  29. @Jessica40,000! Wow, I'd better step up my game.

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  30. @AdoThanks. I do strive for twitter excellence. :)

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  31. @harriet glynnYes, you caught me. It was Mark I was referring to. I had to run it by the Hubs for some assurance that I was over-analyzing. You are most definitely one of my Twitter idols! :)

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  32. Being that I am the nice lady in California (polished off the last of the ALL DRESSED today) I really enjoyed your post. Now, you still need to tell me what fine treasure California is keeping from the Canadians and I will send it off - I pay it forward (well, this would be backwards, no?) always!!

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  33. @KathieI'm really having a hard time thinking of anything. Any local non-perishable delicacies? If not, you can't go wrong with chocolate! :)

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  34. totally dont get twitter.. :(

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