Is twitter an illusion that has software that allows

[C......N......C]

people to think they are talking one on one to individuals, when in reality there are thousands of queries that would crash a regular forum. Are people really having a one on one with Ashton Kutcher or other super stars?? I believe it is a commercial enterprise for profit, is it ? I haven't tried it because I don't believe it provides access.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

1. Exactly.

[MrScorpio]

2. Only if you give a fuck about the other person you tweet with

Otherwise it's just permission to get a play-by-play on people you may or may not know

[Dennis Donovan]

3. Either Twitter or Facebook, I don't recall which one...

...had a fake Keith Olbermann - Keith revealed on his show last week that it weasn't him (and made the offending social-networking site his "worst person in the world."

[Rhiannon12866]

31. Twitter.

twitter Worst Person In The WORLD!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YBYtKpb2pQ

[NYCGirl]

4. The creators of Twitter would laugh at the "commercial enterprise" thing.

Until a couple of weeks ago, they had no funding at all, and are just now trying to find a way to monetize their model.

You might want to find out a little basic information before you make criticisms.

[C......N......C]

5. You might want to read my post before you jump to hostility.

I was asking a question. I don't understand how twitter could offer one on one access and I was asking that question. If you don't know you don't have to be mean.

[NYCGirl]

11. It doesn't claim to offer "one on one access". NT

[Lex]

13. Wonder where that came from anyway?

LOL.

[C......N......C]

16. But a lot of people think it does. My wife thinks she talks to John Mayer.

That's why I asked if it was an illusion. All the talk on TV is about whether it offers one on one access. I am familiar with computers and life enough to know that you don't get to talk to anybody that easily. Do you know the group that started twitter?

[Lex]

17. I'm guessing she doesn't understand how Twitter works if she thinks she

can talk to John Mayer. She might follow his postings (called "tweets"), but I'm guessing he hasn't asked to follow her posts.

[NYCGirl]

18. You might want to tell her she's wrong. If John Mayer (or his staff, which

most likely does his tweets) doesn't "follow" your wife's timeline, he (or they) are not seeing what she says. That's how it works. It's really not a complicated idea.

[C......N......C]

20. I was telling her that it is probably software like that eight ball that

you ask questions and then roll around and it gives an answer.

[NYCGirl]

22. No, not exactly. There are people behind those words. But in the case of many

celebs, it's probably their management company. And they don't usually follow everyone who follows them. Some, like Shaq, are really writing themselves. Many political people do their own.

[C......N......C]

6. Relay, why the sudden jump to hostility over my question?

[TahitiNut]

7. Twitter .... the perfect "latest bright shiny thing" for bird-brains

:rofl:

[MineralMan]

9. Jus' reding d psts on DU...

CU L8R!

[C......N......C]

10. I missed the meaning of your Post. What does it mean?

[MineralMan]

14. It's just a twitter, and it means about as much as

most of the posts on Twitter. As far as I'm concerned, Twitter is useless. I don't know anyone who might be interested in my every thought and action, nor do I know anyone whose every thought and action interest me, even my wife.

You do know what those who twitter are called, right?

[C......N......C]

19. Tweeters?

I just recognized that you said " L8R ". I first read it to be " LBR ", that was what confused me. I thought I was missing some new political phrase.

[MineralMan]

30. I think they call them "Twits" (n.t.)

[notadmblnd]

24. if the kids don't know about it and aren't using it.......

It struck me a while back, that when I first heard about Myspace and Facebook, it was from the kids using it. I never heard of Twitter before the talking heads on MSM began talking about it. I asked my teenager about it a couple of weeks ago to see what he and his friends know about it. The answer, nada, zip, zilch.

My son and his friends are a bunch of kids that communicate to each other all day via text. Hardly a minute goes by that I don't hear his phone vibrating some new message. It's not the case with Twitter. They either haven't heard of it or they are not using it.

I even went out the the website to explore it with my son and it didn't even garner his interest. I find that unusual for a bunch of kids that are pretty much into mass communication:shrug:

[Lex]

25. stats show this

In its first look at Twitter, the Pew Internet & American Life Project discovers that Twitter users tend to be younger and more mobile than the general Internet population, but they also consume more news through the Internet and tend to engage in social activities online differently than everyone else.

Demographic graph and links here: http://www.textually.org/textually/archives/2009/02/022697.htm

[Champion Jack]

8. I'm against all this new fangled "social networking" bullshit

I'm going to live in a 100 sq ft cabin and write my manifesto.
I'll mail you something for your birthday.

[Lex]

15. It's very much like DU posts

just a slightly different format.

[Lex]

12. It doesn't operate in the way that you imagine it does.

nt

[supernova]

21. Twitter has as yet to be fully realized

It's just sitting there with no reason. People mindlessly posting every little thing they do, isn't its ultimate purpose, IMO.

There probably is a legit need for this play-by-play format, we just haven't worked out what that is yet.

[NYCGirl]

23. Here are some non-mindless instances of Twitter being useful:

On February 12, 2009, there was a global meet-up called Twestival where Twitter users came together in over 170 cities around the world to take the online community surrounding Twitter offline as well as to raise money and awareness for Charity: water.<69>

On April 10, 2008, James Buck, a graduate journalism student at UC Berkeley, and his translator, Mohammed Maree, were arrested in Egypt for photographing an anti-government protest. On his way to the police station Buck used his mobile phone to send the message “Arrested” to his 48 "followers" on Twitter. Those contacted UC Berkeley, the US Embassy in Cairo, and a number of press organizations on his behalf. Buck was able to send updates about his condition to his "followers" while being detained. He was released the next day from the Mahalla jail after the college hired a lawyer for him.<70><71>

Research reported in New Scientist in May 2008 <72> found that blogs, maps, photo sites and instant messaging systems like Twitter did a better job of getting information out during emergencies such as the shootings at Virginia Tech than either the traditional news media or government emergency services. The study, performed by researchers at the University of Colorado, also found that those using Twitter during the fires in California in October 2007 kept their followers (who were often friends and neighbors) informed of their whereabouts and of the location of various fires minute by minute. Additionally, organizations that support relief efforts are also using Twitter. The American Red Cross uses Twitter (http://twitter.com/RedCross) to exchange minute-to-minute information about local disasters, including statistics and directions.<73><74>

Media outlets are also starting to use Twitter as a source of public sentiment on issues. The first trades union Twitter service was launched by the news and campaigning website LabourStart in June 2008<75> During the CBC News television coverage of the Canadian federal election on October 14, 2008, the CBC cited a graph, produced by the Infoscape Research Lab, of items mentioned on Twitter, along with Tweets regarding Elizabeth May and Stéphane Dion, with the majority of the Dion Tweets calling for him to step down in response to the election results.<76>

During the 2008 Mumbai attacks, eyewitnesses sent an estimated 80 tweets every five seconds as the tragedy unfolded. Twitter users on the ground helped in compiling a list of the dead and injured. In addition, users sent out vital information such as emergency phone numbers and the location of hospitals that needed blood donations.<77> In January 2009, US Airways Flight 1549 experienced multiple bird strikes and had to be ditched in the Hudson River after takeoff from LaGuardia Airport in New York City. Janis Krums, a passenger on one of the ferries that rushed to help, took a picture of the downed plane as passengers were still evacuating and tweeted it via TwitPic before traditional media arrived at the scene.<78><79> In February 2009, the Australian Country Fire Authority used Twitter to send out regular alerts and updates regarding the 2009 Victorian bushfires.<80> During this time, the Prime Minister of Australia, Kevin Rudd, also used his Twitter account to send out information on the fires, how to donate money and blood, and where to seek emergency help.<81>

In October 2008 a draft US Army intelligence report identified the popular micro-blogging service as a potential terrorist tool. The report said, "Twitter is already used by some members to post and/or support extremist ideologies and perspectives."<82><83>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitter#Usage

[supernova]

27. Nice examples, thanks

:thumbsup:

I can also see something on the job where you have a huge task and everyone twittering their completed tasks so that you can see how the whole project is coming along at any point.

[Doremus]

29. Twitter allows instant P2P communication, bypassing the M$M

Not at all a bad thing.

DD saw a police barricade on the way home from work and found no mention of it on local news sites. She checked Twitter and instantly found out a disgruntled former employee was holding hostages in a restaurant.

[OwnedByFerrets]

26. Besides, there are ghost writers for the ones who can afford it

But, I dont even text, so who am I to comment.:evilgrin:

[Odin2005]

28. I hate it when people say things online social networking isn't "real" communication.

I bet people were saying the same thing when telephones started being common. :eyes: People are always whining that new communication technology would cause the downfall of society, it never happens.