Comments on: Twitter: Let’s get this party started

By: wanderlust47

wanderlust47 — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 08:11:00 +0000

Work those tweet Jam Jams!

By: J Wielgosz

J Wielgosz — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 04:23:35 +0000

I’m actually just baffled by ‘Twitter’. I mean, I understand it, but the appeal escapes me. I’m too young to be feeling ‘fuddy duddy’, but it all seems like more context-free digital hash thrown out there in an increasing series of locked in Web 2.0 designs. If the Borg ever show up, they’ll find a populace that’s already along into the assimilation process.

Weird, in all of ‘Star Trek’, I can’t recall a character texting or tweeting another. They all…talked…

By: Brendan

Brendan — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 01:14:48 +0000

The TNG comment made my harken back to how long it’s been… remember this “My hope (no promises) is to have all of TNG done by December 31, 2007. ”

Haha not complaining just think its funny.

Welcome to twitter… I too thought it was silly at first but I now use to follow people, though I still don’t post anything myself.

By: Eduardo

Eduardo — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 22:03:05 +0000

I’m still not sold on Twitter’s usefulness. That might put me as out of touch. So be it, at least for now.

If you ever intend to put micro-reviews within the unfair limit of 140 characters, here’s some advice:

Don’t write “worst episode ever” as your micro-review phrase. It may have worked as satire for Comic Book Guy, but it would kill the review.

By: knitpicker

knitpicker — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 17:09:29 +0000

Wade – I was raised, long ago, without any access to TV. When I became independent, I spent years glued to the tube. Fortunately, I’ve “recovered” and have returned to reading. (Read to your kids! Read for pleasure when your kids are around! probably more important that restricting TV). Of course, the real lesson is that what works for one, doesn’t work for another (kids, parents, families, etc.).

I like email. I have no interest in the random chatter of networking sites. It reminds me of someone I know who compulsively checks voice mail about ever 20 minutes. When I lived alone, the TV provided an artificial sense of social contact, I think that’s what all the networking sites do – they provide an artificial sense of social engagement. Just like responding to Jammer’s comments gives me an illusion of social engagement with Jammer. I am invested from spending so much time reading his comments, but it isn’t really what you would call a relationship. Pathetically enough, I probably know him better than many of my immediate neighbors. Gotta get a dog – they all bond through walking their dogs rather than through their kids. Their kids are all busy with “activities.”

By: Wade

Wade — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 16:22:34 +0000

knitpicker – Thanks for the feedback. Don’t you just love how kids can turn your world upside down. Up until a few months ago, I had this foolish notion that I had this whole thing called life down pat. Now I realize how clueless I am. I’m still looking for that instruction manual on how to raise kids. We have some neighbors with their first newborn who are not allowing any screen time for the first few years. I lean a little that way, but at the same time I think it’s really everything in moderation and strict control over what the content. I’m thinking of an old TV not hooked into cable and only with a DVD player that has some PBS and kids shows. We’ll see.

Back to the twitter feed bit. I find it a nice release to disconnect online conversations after leaving the office. Much like many people, my day is filled with chats, virtual meetings, and online projects. Its enough to make me thrilled with my 45 min train ride home with just a book and no distractions. Speaking of that, with all these twitter feeds that people glancing at, are we harming out ability to concentrate and perform at our best?

By: knitpicker

knitpicker — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 15:29:13 +0000

Wade – noble words indeed, but you’ll probably find that your kids’ social circles will undermine a lot of what you are trying to do. Our first born never was allowed any screen-time at home, but he ended up knowing all about the characters on TV shows just from outside exposure. Our second born, who was a born technophile, trained us to teach responsible use. Once he learned to climb, nothing could keep him away from the devices he knew mom and dad used, and he kept breaking them. Once we taught him how to use them properly (at 18 months), he never broke anything again. Kids know that there are different rules in different places, and so we set reasonable limits on what was allowed at home. All TV, computer and other electronic use takes place in public space. When they were little, I watched TV shows with them – and I had to like the show or see the benefit of the show. We started out exclusively with PBS (at home). (Note, we never watched TV news with them when they were little – they still heard about horrible things through their classmates, but didn’t have to see it first hand). We discuss the shows they watch, the commercials, the shows we watch, etc. Now that they are teenagers, there is a lot of overlap between what they watch and what we watch, which is a lot of fun. Now they watch the news with us, and have interesting things to say about it. We talk about what we do on line, we express interest in what they find on line (xkcd rocks – and it gives an entre to talk about that cringe inducing relationship/sexual stuff that is so hard to bring up when they are teenagers). Good luck

By: Destructor

Destructor — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 23:01:32 +0000

Brave words. I’ve heard them before, from millions of species across countless worlds. Now they are all Borg.

By: Wade

Wade — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 17:50:05 +0000

I’m not sure its really a matter of fuddy duddy or not. Isn’t there a basic question here that just because we can do something doesn’t mean we should do it. Isn’t there some value to lessening the amount of noise floating around. And I know that I could choose not to subscribe to the twitter feed. But that doens’t really help to limit the volume of media and cyberspace noise out there. I guess I ask this because I’m about to be a new father and these are things i’m going to have to start considering. When should I allow TV and how much? When should I allow internet access and how much? When should I allow cell phone access and how much?

By: knitpicker

knitpicker — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 16:29:52 +0000

Hey, congratulations! I didn’t realize you were engaged.

By: grumpy_otter

grumpy_otter — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 09:43:08 +0000

I don’t think I’ll ever tweet–I don’t even own a cell phone! (For which I get endless grief from people who insist I be reachable at any hour. I don’t WANT to be reachable at any hour!)

But I really wanted to comment on the TNG thing. I am one of the crowd of “where are the reviews?”, though I think of myself more as one of the “boy, it sure will be fun to see what Jammer has to say about this!” crowd. No hurry–I know you have a life. It doesn’t take long to read them–but I know it takes long to write them.

While reading this post, I started wondering about how you feel about that. There is a not inconsiderable number of people who are bated breathlessly waiting for what you have to say about a TV show that ended over a decade ago! I’d like to think it’s flattering to you, rather than an irritation. And doesn’t show that we are a bunch of hopeless geeks.

(btw, my autospell thinks “Jammer” should be Hammer, Yammer, or Jammie)

By: Ralph

Ralph — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 08:56:54 +0000

Consider yourself followed. Am looking forward to what a usually very insightful chap like yourself can do with the medium.

By: Nolan

Nolan — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 06:34:54 +0000

Yep, I know how you feel. I was against Twitter, then my friend (who, ironically, doesn’t use it too much) sent me an invite to sign up. Now, I check every day.

Essencially, though, I must say, One of us! One of us! One of us!

You also get to tweet, when a review goes live as well, if you didn’t figure that out, and why wouldn’t you, you’re One of us! One of us! One of us!

By: dss

dss — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 06:21:20 +0000

Still waiting for those couch updates from your mobile. So far all your tweets were web-originated.