Never in my life have I seen opinions swing to such wild extremes about a technology as I do about Twitter.
There are those like me that LOVE it and know how to use it. It's like a a modern CB radio, which I owned in the 80s, where you could chat with as many people as possible within a few miles, or using a HAM radio worldwide.
Twitter is literally the first technology to instantly connect masses of people together in real-time, in ways nobody could conceive of when the internet first came online as it wasn't this reliable.
When there's an earthquake and I want to know how big it is, or where it's felt, grab the phone and everyone is tweeting about it all over the place.
However, many of the naysayers have never really used Twitter or gave up after their first tweet. These people tend to say nothing but bad things, often irrational things, and I think it's because they feel excluded. These people don't get it and don't understand why everyone else is clamoring about it while they can't figure it out and then lash out against Twitter.
Seriously, how would you feel if the next big thing came out and you simply couldn't understand it. That would make you anxious, angry, upset and probably a little paranoid as you wonder what they're all doing behind your back. More than likely you're mad at yourself that you don't seem to understand why everyone else loves it and you can't connect the dots like they do so lashing out is just a defense mechanism.
People are generally joiners, which is the whole concept around twitter to build groups with followers. We re-tweet things we like which allows our followers to find other people to follow.
I've found a lot of people I like worldwide on twitter, so while I'm meeting new people those that rally against Twitter are missing out.
Hash tags and tweets are shown all over TV these days which further beats it into the anti-Twitters that something is going on that they aren't a part.
It's strange to me that the anti-Twitter crowd really wants to be a part of the party, but for whatever reasons sit on the side and refuse to even try.
I guess what I don't get is it's easy to sign up for Twitter.
You only see people in your Twitter stream that YOU SELECT so if you see a bunch of crap, then it was your crappy choices. Try following news sources, or top SEOs, or your favorite celebs, something that might be interesting.
What most people not using Twitter miss is mostly people Tweet links to web pages they find so following the right twitter account can be a treasure trove of information, things that can help you in your job and everyday life.
Better yet, when you learn to effectively communicate in 140 words or less, you might then possess the skills to tell 811 all they need to know before your cell phone battery dies some day.
It's an amazing technology, so why be so negative and irrational about it?
If you're unsure how to find people to follow, ask others, do a search in twitter, etc. and it'll start to make sense.
Try it for a month, it won't hurt you.
Honest!
