Did anyone ever notice what a rich source Twitter is for gathering quotes? It’s almost a quote engine all by itself. It’s tailored to the task in many ways. Take into consideration the following:
Limit of 140 characters is about the perfect length for just about anything.
The large number of users generating original content.
Many of the intelligent conversations generate, interesting and meaningful tweets.
One of my Twitter friends has posted a great article on getting started with Twitter. 1389 goes over what Twitter is, and how you can take advantage of using it yourself.
I’ll tell you I’ve met several hundred people on Twitter and find their input useful and interesting. While I follow mostly technical people in fields that I find interesting, I’ve also found many people in other fields that I never thought I’d be curious to learn about.
I really enjoy reading Robert Scoble. His blog, The Scoble Show over at PodTech, and of course, his Tweets (on Twitter). He usually has some good thoughts, and is usually on the money. Sometimes I really disagree with him and think he’s too close to Silicon Valley for his own good, but he is on top of everything.
So it was one of this tweets today that got me thinking on email more. I don’t disagree with him on this one, and I thought I’d expound a bit on some of the thoughts he was throwing out on.
It turned out to be an interesting thread on Twitter. Scoble started off with this tweet:
It’s amazing that in this age of Twitter that people still send email. I hate email. I hate direct Tweets. I hate Facebook messages.
Followed quickly (Twitter is great at fast follow-ups) with this Tweet:
PR people are the worst in the email regard. Speaker planners are close. I don’t answer a lot of my email anymore. If I did, I’d never do.
It’s interesting how the technorati are continually moving to an open communications model – where only their private communications are conducted through email. Private life requires a little bit of privacy after all.
But for communications where privacy doesn’t matter, and after all most communications fall into this category, why not use a fast, scaleable, mobile communications system? Who cares if everyone reads the message – most people ignore anything that is not of interest or of importance to them.
Robert answered one of his followers in this Tweet:
@dweezel: that’s the whole point. Most of my email does NOT need to be private. It’s far better to do most communication out in public.
This seems to sum up the growing perception in many people’s minds.
@Scobleizer – agreed in the “get in contact” mode. What about the “more details” mode? What do you prefer for “payload?”
While Robert didn’t answer the question, I think that this question is being answered by many Twitter users themselves. Initially shortened URLs (using TinyURL or URLtea) helped link to blogs, news sites, YouTube, etc… In addition, creative users like Dave Winer come up with solutions like TwitterGram where you can upload an audio file, or call one in from your phone. This is where the payload of services like Twitter will be augmented.
Robert rounded out his perspectives in this Tweet:
Basically this is my gesture to the world: I am not answering my email and I’m not going to start. I’m overloaded. Tweet me.
The whole idea of not using email is possibly a bit extreme, but the reality is that we rely on email too much. We use it in place of face-to-face conversations, some use it in place of IM, some use it to spread viral marketing, some unwittingly help spammers and virus hacks by resending pictures and messages they find profound.
The fact of the matter is that email is abused and few messages are worth reading at all. Between the spam, poorly written lengthy messages, it’s a time-sink for many individuals and their employers.
I’d be curious how many hours any of you spend dealing with email – an old but still valid question.
I guess that I really don’t use email much myself, and through the use of instant communications services like Twitter/Pownce/Jaiku, I have gotten used to saying something in 140 characters, or being able to split it into two such posts. Being succinct is an art and an asset that many should practice.
Oh, and thanks to Robert for the post idea! 🙂
UPDATE: I guess that one of the things I wanted to point out though is that while email is abused and is a problem, it is going to be one of our “classic” communication methods. Like radio when television came out, there is still much value in it. There are many times you can absorb auditory information without a video stream and gain value from it. Also, newspapers – the morning ritual of reading the news with a cup of coffee, or on the commute to work is something that will never go away. The same for books – the more digital we get and how quickly we can send information, the more important the relaxing affect of getting lost in your favorite book is.
Email, like a good Whiskey, needs to be used in moderation.
So I just received my invitation to Mogulus, and it’ll have to wait until I get back home to really give it a try. Mogulus is a live broadcasting service that has many professional-style editing, cueing and mixing features. It also allows for a selecting of live feeds rather than only one feed. This lets you change to a remote video feed and be able to create a much more polished show.
A clever person or group of people could actually create a rather good news program dedicated to specific topics. Interesting stuff – more later.
Yeah, so I get an email this morning announcing Mogulus-hosted coverage of the iPhone launch. So, being interested in Mogulus, I click the link, the page loads and….
Well Mogulus, here is your first problem. My interest in this link was two-fold, I wanted to see a little bit of the carnage of the Apple iPhone launch, but I was more interested in how your service looks.
Guess what my first impression is!
I mean, I was really interested in the layout, quality, component interaction and so on – of your service, not the iPhone. I’ll get to see clips from the iPhone launch around the globe and around the web, but it’ll still be awhile before I get to see your service, and the first experience with it left me wondering if you’re worth the hype. I already know the iPhone isn’t.
@MAC_Arms Pay taxes when you make your money, pay taxes when you spend your money, pay taxes when you successfully invest your money, pay taxes when you save enough taxed money to afford a house, pay taxes to live in your house, pay taxes when you sell the house that you paid taxes on to
Yup, taxes are criminal and we need serious reforms. I've always said that if you want to see a tax revolt, make withholdings illegal and have Americans write a tax check every payday. They'll revolt for sure. You don't miss what you never had.
Sen. @berniemoreno says voter ID and proof of citizenship are simply common sense.
“We’re talking about a very low threshold — identify who you are and prove you’re a U.S. citizen when you register to vote. I think we’re getting closer to
