Twittering Like a Bunch of Lemmings

I must again thank a co-worker for the following link!

Yesterday's Wall Street Journal had a very interesting piece on Twitter written by KATHERINE BOEHRET and edited by Walter S. Mossberg. http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB122826572677574415-rXaM5BTzeRQMfvAuP3_4gjVJm_A_20091203.html?mod=rss_personal_technology

While the content of the article focuses on the mechanics and lingo of Twitter, it was the headline which truly caught my attention... "Birds of a Feather Twitter Together - Social-Networking Service Connects Followers, Not Friends, on PCs and Mobile Phones." It connects followers. Sounds like a cult... or better yet... a herd.

The author carefully selected the term 'followers' because, as she explains, while Facebook and MySpace have users connecting with 'friends,' on Twitter you select people to 'follow'. That got me thinking down the trail of my last post about Twitter (i.e. 'being for Twits') ....thousands of Twitterers with tens of thousands of followers following the every minutia of each others lives... receiving innumerable updates from countless people.

Merriam-Webster's online dictionary defines the word herd as, and I quote, "2 a (1): a group of people usually having a common bond (2): a large assemblage of like things b: the undistinguished masses." http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/herd

The undistinguished masses... how apropos. For people who are looking to stand out and connect with others 'like them' because of their individuality, it is interesting to find them flock to an application that, because of the brevity of its format and ability for just anyone to start following someone else, really seems to bury that very individuality in an undulating sea of 'twits'. Why would anyone just blindly follow someone else just because that person is 'following' one of their friends? Didn't they ever have some version of the following conversation with their parents?

Kid: "I'm sorry. I know it was a stupid thing to do."
Mom/Dad/Parental figure: "Honey, just because someone else does it doesn't mean you have to... I mean, if Suzy jumped off a bridge, would you jump to?"

This whole new media landscape has me concerned. Are people so starved to be part of something that they feel the need to subscribe, follow, RSS feed, DIGG, Tweet and blog about everything they do. Each person may 'feel' like they are being an individual, but when you take a step back it looks more like a herd... a herd of lemmings all gyrating about.

But the situation will only get worse with more and more people losing ever more time following even more people's twits... in a December 4th New York Times article by Claire Cain Miller, http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/03/why-twitter-turned-down-facebook/ she cites that during a recent public speech by Evan Williams, the chief executive and co-founder of Twitter, one very eager Twitter user proudly stated that he follows - - get this, 17,800 people! And it gets better! Mr. Williams reply? And I quote "“Do you do anything else?” asked Mr. Williams, who said he can barely keep up with the 947 people he follows."

17,800 people? 947 people? YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING! He has the audacity to ask this guy how he does anything else in his day? How does he follow 947 people and still have a job? The very telling answer lies in the very same article, and I quote:

"Twitter has raised $20 million from venture capitalists, but has brought in virtually no revenue, choosing growth over everything else." Apparently he sold his last venture, Pyra Labs (which created Blogger) to Google in 2003... likely for a lot of money. Can Twitter be very far behind? Looks like the Pied Piper is getting all the lemming hooked with his twittering flute, just so he can sell it and them out to someone who will find a great way to 'moneterize' another facet of your life... have fun reading that twit about the new 12 bladed Schick razor as you follow the herd off the cliff!

Looks Like I'm Not Alone

Thanks to one of my co-workers for the following link!

Looks like I'm not alone in the thought that most blogs serve to do nothing more than perpetuate rumor and individual opinion... and Time Magazine no less - - Here is a link to the Michael Kinsley piece entitled "How many blogs does this world need?" http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1860888,00.html

Enjoy!

TWITter - Couldn't have chosen a more appropriate name!

Twitter - - what a profound idea... hundreds of thousands of people blasting useless information to everyone in their address books! Yaaaaahhh! And I thought blogs were bad.

The New York Times called Twitter "one of the fastest-growing phenomena on the Internet," TIME Magazine said that "Twitter is on its way to becoming the next killer app," and Newsweek wrote "Suddenly, it seems as though all the world's a-twitter." A-twitter... hmmm, I couldn't agree more. I cannot believe that everyone in any one's email address book could really give a rat's ass that you are sitting at a bus stop waiting to head in to work and can't figure out which movie to rent tonight!

Is this just one more way to feel 'connected'? Forget religion as the opiate for the masses... we've got technology to do it better and faster... talk about immediate gratification! What ever happened to good old face to face meetings? Or just push that 'other' button on your mobile device and 'gasp' call someone and have a real life live conversation! There is a reason for the popularity and longevity of the saying 'absence makes the heart grow fonder.' Even if I really like you, if you are in my face 24/7, 365 days a year I'm not going to feel the need to seek you out... unless it is to hit you with a brick to stop filling my inbox with the mundane details of your life. I don't even want to know that level of detail in the life of my immediate family. Ever wonder about the staying power of the saying "familiarity breeds contempt"?

Hey, if something momentous occurs or if you need my help, I'm there for you, but if you are having trouble figuring out why Burger King got rid of the King in their commercials... keep it to yourself! It might be funny after we've knocked back half a dozen beers at the bar... but that is where it belongs... not in my in-box at work at ten in the morning. Don't insult me by sending me some generic, short-schrift message you blast to everyone. All you are doing is sending everyone you know a short-hand equivilant of that 'Fruit Cake' of Holiday cards... the annual review family newsletter.

The next killer app... yeah, if you mean 'killer' in the sense of destroying meaningful human interaction! In my book, that name says it all... the application: Twitter... those who use it to vomit the minutia of their lives: Twits.

I've Got Something I'd Like to Hook Up To A Car Battery...

Being a neophyte in this online world, I began my search not far from my own little blog. Thinking about how best to begin, I found myself staring at the blogger.com home page and noticed the scrolling list of recently updated blogs that flashed across the top of the page. “How convenient” I thought… let the random clicking begin.

Well, I have to be honest… my first look hasn’t done much to dispel my suspicions. On the contrary, my first 15-minute foray into the blogoshpere has done a rather grand job chiseling a 40-foot tall, 300 ton stone edifice to pandering to mankind’s lowest common denominator.

Take for instance one of my very first random selections, http://electriccarconversion65.blogspot.com/. Having a particular fondness for technology and automotive topics, I was immediately intrigued… could this be my first example of a blog that provides information that would actually be of value? I mean, at first blush you might assume so, especially taking into account the current economic situation … although fuel prices have subsided quite a bit… and the seemingly surging tide of consumer support for all things ‘green.’ If this site really has useful, practical information it could be…

Nope!

Literally the first two things I read when the site popped up on my screen said it all. The blog title reads “Electric Car Conversion Kit, Cut Gasoline Expense by using a electric car conversion kit” and the first sentence… “Waht to know whats the prefured electric car conversion kit available?” I mean, come on… at least take some time to think about and PROOF your posts before putting them out there for all posterity! If you feel strongly about a topic, as I initially assumed HAYNES was about electric cars, the last thing I’d imagine you’d want to be is written off as some sort of hack because you write with the skill of a second grader.

And that got me to thinking about the apparent failure of our educational system. Are schools no longer teaching people how to communicate via the written word? It also raised questions in my mind as to the role this wonderful new electronic medium (email, blogs, text messaging, etc.) has played in the downfall of this important skill. A side note here: I firmly believe that being able to clearly articulate thoughts in writing is a life skill that everyone needs to master. Parents and schools fail children when they are permitted to make it out into the working world ill-equipped. I’m sure I’ll eventually get to a post that is a diatribe about education in our country, the rise of standardized testing, social-promotion, etc. as well as the role of email, text messaging blogs in the downfall of our nation’s ability to communicate at some point… but I digress.

I suspect that HAYNES spent all his time jumbling together information he had grabbed from elsewhere to create his blog. I have not done a search to see if I can come up with where the information came from, or to confirm if, in fact he did poach it, but the poor grammar, large gaps in what should be a logical progression and the language… I mean “We will be using acid type batteries…”? Come on! It sounds like it was literally pulled straight from an instruction manual or hands-on classroom demonstration.

The one smart thing he did do, however, was to provide the following link: http://www.electric-car-conversions.info/. This site, written by John Richardson, is apparently what he was trying so hard to emulate. What HAYNES seems not to understand is that the other guy actually converts conventional cars into electric cars! If you believe what he says on his site, the guy has actually ordered various conversion manuals and kits and tried them out… successfully converting his 1998 Volvo into an electric car that drives 200 miles per charge and tops out at 55mph.

If the information you highlight on your site is not yours – at least let people know where it comes from. If you are not providing new information (like John Richardson did… having personally tested the information/products he discusses) – you owe your readers enough to let them know that. If all you have is an opinion – at least take the time to string together a couple of coherent thoughts without butchering the English language.

Just like my site, there is no personal information on HAYNES’ profile. I can respect that. For various reasons, most importantly personal privacy, I’m not planning on putting my information out there either. However, his profile did offer some telling tidbits… he has/had a few other blogs, including: Don't Whiten Your Teeth Until You Read This, Best Teeth Whitening At Home Kits and mystuff341431… all of which, to my great chagrin, were empty.

The several blogs my aimless clicking took me to after HAYNES’s little gem did little to change my mind about the inability, or lack of effort, many people put into communicating their thoughts in their blogs. I'm sorry, but unless I’m sorely mistaken, doesn’t just about every computer come with a word processing program that includes at very least a rudimentary spell-check function?

I’ve got to find a better way to find a higher quality of blogs…

Read This First

I don’t like blogs. I feel the vast majority are wastes of space that do nothing more than stroke the ego of the blogger, spread half-truths/old wives tales/flat out lies, and perpetuate the misconception that everyone has something valuable to share. It’s like the old saying about opinions and a certain body part… you know, everyone has one and they all stink! This is a half-hearted effort (at best) to pierce the retched darkness of the great fetid cesspool that is the blogosphere and shine a light on those spots that prove my point. But I also hold out hope that during my aimless wanderings, I’ll stumble across some gleaming kernels that highlight the true promise of this unique human experiment. I’ve got my hip waders, flashlight and gas mask… Hope you’ve got yours!

Its not that I don’t appreciate the Internet as a fantastic resource for spreading knowledge and ideas… I do. Really! It’s just that I’ve got this sneaking suspicion that most people who blog are not fantastic resources for either knowledge or ideas. My gut tells me that a huge percentage of today’s blogs are nothing more than the uninformed ramblings of people unqualified to speak about the topics they cover. While they may feel that there is a need out there that could be met by the ‘valuable insight’ they’ve gleaned through some direct personal experience, they are in fact, likely not providing the world with any profound or informed insight nor helping anyone with anything important.

Ah, but therein lies my dilemma! If I don’t believe in blogs and truly feel that only those who are qualified or really have something to say should blog, then how can I blog? I must freely admit that by my very own standard, I should not be doing a blog on this topic. I also feel that I shouldn’t even do a blog on the topic of my own chosen profession, despite the fact that I’ve been in it for nearly 14 years and have grown to be quite successful at what I do (rising through the ranks at a great company, winning industry awards and the respect of a variety of clients and peers). While I am confident that I am qualified and highly capable of delivering constructive, informed and insightful consultation to my clients, I would not deign to proclaim to the world via a blog that I have any insight or idea that would warrant such a global platform. I can count on two hands the number of people within my own company whose insight and sheer creative genius outshines my own. Not that I don’t have from time to time a great idea, or that over my career I haven’t created or helped create some industry leading programs… its just that I understand my limitations. It’s like those many contestants on that popular game show… turning to the camera and stating “My name is xyz and I am not smarter than a fifth grader” in order to walk away with some cash. Without remuneration, I am comfortable proclaiming to the world that, in fact, there are many people out there smarter and more knowledgeable on any subject other than what goes on inside my head than I (although it wouldn’t surprise me that there is a psychiatrist or psychologist out there who could get close).

So why the blog? The answer is simple. I was pushed…