Is Twitter where bloggers go to die?

I've been using Twitter for a month or so now, and I must admit I find it pretty exhausting.

This morning, looking at Google reader, I see there are 987 unread "tweets" since logging off last night - 75% of which I don't understand because they say things like "snurl 45345o34rtdcm," or "@ Ste: hahaha Gold Mate!"

I only follow about 30 people on Twitter but the sheer volume of information generated is just depressing sometimes when I've got other things to do. And the content on Twitter is rarely of use to everyone reading it (that's not the point of the medium, I guess) but is directed at one or two other people in the network.

From my experience of Twitter, though, it seems people like Chris, Brendan, Stephen and Paull Tweet far more than they blog these days. Which to me seems a bit of a shame - they're sharing thoughts and content among a small network of like-minded individuals rather than using blogs, which seem to me a far more open form of debate.

It's easy to forget sometimes that the vast majority of people in media and PR still don't blog, much less use the likes of Twitter.  And whenever I log into Twitter I get the feeling there's a little, increasingly self-referential community becoming more and more divided from the rest of us. What do others think?

Comments

[Amber]

I just can't get into Twitter at all, no matter how I try. I have an account which is updated automatically every time I post to my blog, but every time I look at the people I follow and see all of the "@" tweets that indicate some private conversation I have no hope of following, I log out. I fail at Twittering.

[katie moffat]

Ha, love the post title.
I'm sure you're right. Loads of my clients haven't the first clue about blogs let alone Twitter and although it's my job to educate them about the importance of social media, I have to admit that I struggle with showing them how Twitter can help, particularly in a B2B arena.

[Awalseng]

When Twitter launched I must admit that I was an immediate skeptic. However, at the urging of a colleague, I signed up for an account last week. After only a few days, I'm hooked. I see the value as quite different from what blogs offer. For example, a colleague of mine e-mailed Monday saying that she is looking for a career change. I sent out a brief "tweet" about it. Two very well-connected people have e-mailed me in response. In conversation with a journalist Monday, I discovered some upcoming editorial changes at the publication. Nothing huge, but worth sharing. Two local followers were happy that I shared. Instant goodwill among people with whom I may one day collaborate.

I've been selective about who I choose to follow, and the rewards have been plentiful already. Following Forrester social media analyst Jeremiah Owyang (twitter name: jowyang), for example, seems like the next best thing to having a desk beside his at the office.

All this and I have only a few followers, and I am following, at the moment, only 15 people.

I see real value for independent consultants such as myself using Twitter as a surrogate environment for workplace collaboration we might otherwise miss.

[Ben Matthews]

It definitely took me a while to appreciate the community aspect of Twitter, but now I find it invaluable - as a source of information, contacts, breaking news, requests, and general friendly banter.

You picked out Stephen Davies -here's one reason why he likes Twitter:

http://flickr.com/photos/prblogger/2347759584/

I've posted more about Twitter at my blog - come have a look!

http://snurl.com/21knc

[Sally Whittle]

@Awalseng - thanks for commenting. I will check out Jeremiah's feed and see if it's useful for me.

[Stephen Davies]

Hi Sally,

I've actually been trying to blog and tweet a bit more lately. Note to self: Must try harder.

I understand your point. When I first log in to Twitter on a morning I don't bother with what's gone on a few hours before. I generally start from the beginning.

The thing about Twitter is it contains small micro-conversations which probably won't make sense if you log in infrequently as these conversation generally happen in real time.

I nip in and nip out throughout the day and I have the Twitter Firefox extension installed which makes it easier to track all the people I'm following.

Conversations from blogs are moving on to Twitter and information is being shared via links all the time E.g. When I read this post I (sigh) 'tweeted' it:

http://twitter.com/stedavies/statuses/774362394

Ben (who has commented above) and I follow each other on Twitter so maybe he commented because I tweeted this post?

I struggle with the sheer number of social networks that are around today but I think I've got it sussed:

Blog - Thought pieces. (don't laugh!)

Twitter - Daily conversations/sharing links etc

Facebook - Keeping in touch with my non-geek mates.

Each has a purpose but Twitter is definitely my favourite of the moment.

[Alex Pearmain]

There's an immeadiacy to Twitter which appeals, but it is firmly a distinct niche community. Having said that, when I consider the scaling we've seen on PR and Comms Facebook group, there's absolutely no barrier to Twitter turning into just as powerful tool for the non scoial-media PR community. Facebook was relatively niche when we kicked off, and now it's so mainstream people discuss whether it is passe!

[Sally Whittle]

Alex - I'm sure you're right - I can see mates using Twitter to send messages about social life etc, in the sense that it offers a communal messaging platform rather than the generally one-to-one nature of IM or SMS.

My point I think is just that when people stop blogging and start Tweeting, I can see it's fun and immediate and they presumably get a kick out of being part of a cool community, but they're not really talking to anyone who doesn't already basically agree with their worldview.

Twitter absolutely strikes me as the most homogenous social media platform out there.

[Stephen Davies]

@Katie Maybe Twitter doesn't have any corporate business benefits. At the very least it's a good way of connecting with like-minded individuals which, personally, I think is a good thing.

@Sally I was the worst critic of Twitter in the beginning. Here's the proof:

http://www.prblogger.com/2007/03/twitter-i-dont-get-it/

Give it a proper try. Have a couple of days spending more time in it and see what you think.

Twitter's not going to replace blogging and people aren't going to completely abandon their blogs because of it. Both platforms are good for different purposes in my opinion.

[Sherrilynne]

I tried Twitter about a year ago and didn't see the point. Then recently, after some nagging from blogging friends I decided to check it out again. Now that there's a bigger community it's a lot better. But still I'm not convinced that we've really cracked how to use it yet. I don't care what some blogger had for breakfast and wish that kind of info would be kept off line. But I do get to find out about a lot of news and information quickly, thanks to Twitter. I suspect that as the community grows, it will become a lot more useful. Keep at it.

[Chris Green]

Hi Sally

Yes, you are absolutely right - I am definitely doing more on Twitter these days than I am on my blog.

There are a few reasons for this:

1) Twitter is far easier to post to than a conventional blog. I can use a multitude of different devices to post, and don't necessarily need a net connection to do it either - most of my tweets are sent in as text messages.
2) Immediate impact - I really like the way that Twitter works as a near real-time pust mechanism. People can either subscrive to my Twitter outbursts as part of their global feed, they can just take the RSS feed from my Twitter page, or they can choose to have my ramblings pushed straight to them via IM or text message (I receive the majority of the tweets from the people I follow, including you, via text message so that I get them as they happen and can reply while its still topical).
3) Conversation - Twitter is far more successful than a blog in stimulating a conversation. I'd say that at least 40 per cent, if not more, of my tweets are replies to another Twitter user.

I'm not going to stop blogging, as my blog is still a very important outlet for me, and there is plenty I want to post about that I can't squeeze into a 140 character Twitter post. But for the moment, I don't see myself blogging as frequently and as consistently as I used to.

Chris
http://www.twitter.com/chrisgreen

[Sally Whittle]

Hi Chris

Thanks for commenting - do you think the conversations you have on Twitter are with different people, though? And does this mean we humble blog readers are less important?

Which sounds snarky but I just mean that I know more people read my blog than use my Twitter Feed, so for my community, there's little point in Twittering. I'd rather reach more blog readers than fewer Tweet readers (or are they Tweeters, I wonder).

But I've had some great insights into how people use Twitter and I'm going to see how my own use of it pans out in the coming weeks, so thanks everyone who commented.

Sally

[Dan Thornton]

This quite a common topic on blogs at the moment.

I'd say for starters that looking at Twitter via a feedreader is a bit like reading blogs by looking through an office window at someone else's desk.

I started getting real value from Twitter when I started @ messaging anyone on my list who posted something interesting and relevant. Now I have an almost real time way to share things with an individual, and at the same time allow anyone else on my list to feed into it and join the conversation.

There's a useful debate about this on Aaron Brazell's blog: http://technosailor.com/2008/03/17/twitter-terminal-velocity/

[Sally Whittle]

Dan - thanks for commenting. You have a lovely turn of phrase! I guess using a reader is counter-productive but Twitter online is so damn flaky!

[BeckyBoo]

must admit i don't see the point of having twitter on your mobile - hundreds of messages with links to pointless articles that someone has read online and feels the need to share with all and sundry. why oh why oh why?

[Brendan]

Hi Sally,

I think the point about Twitter is that you need a community already established, with whom you communicate. Twitter's rubbish at building a community.

I've only been active on Twitter by pushing stuff out through my RSS feeds. I've only been inactive on my blog because I've been too busy!

But, point taken: there is still value in blogging because it takes consideration, thought and analysis. Every post I ever make takes *at least* half an hour, because I need to make sure I'm pursuing and supporting an argument.

Put it this way: I'm glad that you've reminded me that blogging has a purpose. I will follow it with renewed vigour. Not to say vim.