What am I doing?
I had writer's block at the library today (a building full of words can do this to a man), so I joined Twitter, despite my vow never to darken its stupid doors. For a while, I had no idea what I was doing, or how to stop or start doing it. I was just flailing around in under 140 characters. Then, something sort of clicked, and within the space of two hours I had 600 "followers". I'm old enough to know that they aren't "followers" in the messianic sense, just people who have clicked on a thing for the hell of it when they should be working, but I was a bit shocked. I took my laptop and went and sat in the British Library restaurant, there to eat my packed lunch (decanted onto an actual plate to make it look like I'd bought it at the restaurant) and I just watched my inbox fill up as I munched my oily fish and salad. It was mad.
In the first instance, it was a funny diversion. Sort of like watching an ants' nest. Then it was a form of insanity, especially as I started "following" other people and reading that Alan Davies was having trouble working because of Twitter - and assuming that this was the case for every other media professional and/or non-media non-professional on Twitter. Then I settled into a Zen-like state of surrender, and guess what, my writer's block went away and I wrote a short piece about Alfred Hitchcock's cameo appearances in record time. I think I still hate Twitter, but I hate it in a different way: I hate it and I hate myself.
23 further people have decided to "follow" me while writing this. More fool them.
posted by Andrew Collins @ 1:51 PM
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30 Comments:
It's clamorous and overwhelming isn't it? Like having the Shipping Forecast shouted at you in twenty languages by very excited people. Nice to see the blog nod to Gia. Her and Mr Gia are the future of accessible, utterly inspiring geekdom.
Anna
What's with the hate?! Feel the love, Andrew! Twitter is undoubtedly an odd concept but how much fun is it to send text messages to the world? I'm one of your "followers" by the way I look forward to you hating it more and more.
Take care, Kev
I saw you were on after Richard Herring posted that you had an account ha ha.
Mind you if it helped you write, albeit accidentally, it could be the first case of Twitter actually causing something productive!
oh and yes I decided to follow you...
It's all become rather entertaining all of a sudden. I'm trying to work out if Christian Voice is a real organisation, or if someone's hacked it...
Noooooo! I don't like Twitter and it's not because I'm out of touch or a technophobe as people like to claim (I'm twenty years old and waste enough time online to refute this).
I like to think however that the people I admire spend their days productively, creating things for me to admire them for. Surely Twitter has to affect this, even if it does occassionaly cure writers block?
You were one of the last few not tweeting, and now I think maybe I'm being an idiot. Oh well, perhaps I'm wrong and it will prove to be a wonderful contribution to art and society. I'm open to persuasion....
Kate
You are not an idiot, Kate. I expect to be bored of it within 24 hours.
I'm one of your followers Andrew, having followed Richard's link to you. I'm even in one of your pics above (@tristanod).
I joined months ago, posted one tweet and couldn't figure out what it was about so left it. I thought I'd try again a few weeks ago and now I "get" it. I don't really follow people who just tweet about what they're doing (a la facebook status updates), but there are some great people who link to blogs, news articles etc. that I would have missed that are of interest to me.
What's amazing is how much influence some of the big twitterers can have. When Stephen Fry linked to a website that was following/compaigning on an anti-vaccination controversy on LBC radio. Said website went down very soon after from the sheer volume of traffic Fry had sent there from just one tweet.
The blogoshere, Twitter, regular news media... they all work together so there's no point viewing Twitter in isolation and wondering what it's for.
I am just still gobsmacked you gave in Andrew. I hope the podcast is not just going to be you two talking about twitter all the time.
A side note, it was interesting to hear that you used to support Leeds United when you were younger. Apart from the fact your not keen on footy, any reason why you stopped? Or would you still consider them your team if you were pushed for an answer.
Twitter actually means I do more work! I can have Tweet Deck running and instead of clicking on BBC News religiously every 15 mins I can follow it's various departments twitter feeds when they tweet them. I do the same for The Indy, Pitchfork, Drowned in Sound and other websites. Also useful for sharing opinions with people at the same gig as you just who you don't know, an easy way to follow thinkgs that are of interest to you. I was scornful of it last year when it just looked like a tech nerd tool but with it being taken up by the music industry en masse in seemingly six weeks I can read about when Coldplay sound-checking, get updates from the horse's mouth (so to speak), suggest covers for them on Spotify (can't get enough of this service) send advice to bands of what pubs are good while they are on tour even
Greatly looking forward to it coming into it's own at events like The Great Escape and Camden Crawl.
It's also a nice time killer to read various media people and comedians chat and argue.
I joined Twitter last month but I just read it once a day to find out what everyone has been up to - I witnessed a conversation between Calvin Harris and Mike Skinner about microphones, I saw what Richard Bacon had for lunch. However, I don't intend to use it to communicate with people so for me it's kind of like acceptable stalking.
Well I just signed up this morning, I have no idea why. The AC/RH podcast I believe may have swung it. Keep keeping it real Mr. C, and long live Half Man Half Biscuit!
I started to follow you when I should've been working Andrew, on the assumption that if I waited till I'd got home you'd have got fed up and packed it in by then.
'Not being keen on footy' is not necessarily a barrier to supporting the current Leeds team rambu, some of the team don't seem all that keen on it themselves. (I know, someone's bound to have said that already).
You're right to hate yourself. It's cack.
I stand enlightened. Of course Twitter is fantastic to spread information and ideas, and to see people like Stephen Fry send photos practically live from the African desert is facinating.
Its the constant tweeting every few minutes that I don't really get. Not every moment in life is golden and doesn't need to be reported on. The job, I think, of comedians, writers, musicians ets is to find the ones that are and make the most of them, which will probably take more than 140 characters (like Warming Up). I just hope it doesn't take the place of forums like this, that inform people like me.
Kate
Rambu, I hate to say this, but for the full Leeds United story you need to borrow (or, hey, buy) a copy of Where Did It All Go Right? - the chapter entitled Leeds Mug tells all, in detail.
I'm another "should have been working but started following you on twitter" person. You can thank Mr Herring! The tweet deck is very good tool and much better than just looking at the web page.
And my favourite Doctor, Goldacre, is on there too.
I'm following you but have no idea where to.....
Do you remember when the internet was just pornography?
Will Leeds Mug be in the audio version Andrew?
Oh yes!
Right, that does it, I'm resurrecting my twitter account. I feel like I'm mission out on far too much
Well I joined a few days ago and though I have nobody following me as of yet I still regularly Twitter away to myself throught the day. Is this going to turn into Cyber-schizophrenia? So is it better to have few or no folowers or hundreds like yourself?
Screw Twatt(errrr) bollocks to fuckbook, the only reason to join them is to build up some kind of spurious online personality and 'friends'... then at the crucial moment ..commit the digital version of hari kari and see if anyone notices..
I've just finished 'where did it all go right' what a lovely book :-) reminded me of adrian mole but with Punk music.
Twitter. Holy hell. One moment of weakness and I was signed up. It's the only medium in which Stephen Fry doesn't sound intelligent. I thought his updates would be filled with lightly humourous anecdotes, no such luck.
I shouldn't hate yourself, do as I do and tell yourself that you're updating your status 'ironically'.
There's a huge amount of snobbery when it comes to social media. Yes, it's probably a flash in the pan (witness facebook accounts dwindling) and yes, it's essentially a virtual babel... but I don't see why people moan and moan about it.
It's just people chatting.
Anyway - if anyone would like to 'follow' me I'm on it here.
I'm never, ever twittering. Blogging takes up enough time, so this is a distraction too far.
I'm still at a loss as to what's so appealing about it. It's just like constantly updating your Facebook status isn't it? So why is that interesting for anyone, because to do it you'd have be sitting down somewhere (probably). So you couldn't, for example, say 'I'm currently swimming across Lake Geneva', because it wouldn't be possible, therefore it would be 'I've just seen an Ikea van go past my window' or something. Hardly amazing.
I wonder why people are slavishly following other people and why this is catching on so fast. It's only been about a month and it's taken off like sliced bread. Perhaps it's just a fad, a craze, like the Rubik's Cube.
Can someone please explain the appeal? Does it lie in the fact that people like to be followed or they like to 'broadcast'?
Do tell.
Nothing to do with snobbery, but I'm bailing out at 11.04 this morning, so that I can say I've spent 24 hours on Twitter. It's not for me. I wish all those well who wish to sail in it.
I was very surprised to see you on Twitter and not at all surprised about you quitting it either given your previous with Facebook.
I do personally think 24 hours is far too short a time to evaluate it as although I'm not a huge fan of so-called "Web 2.0" (I grudgingly joined facebook as real life friends were on it) after a month or so I decided to stick with it as I was enjoying it.
Though this might be due to my being a bit of a computer nerd/geek in and out of work and there being not a few Guardian & BBC tech journalists floating around.
You're right of course- I'm having a couple of days off work and intended to get into Stephen Fry's 'The Ode Less Travelled' but I've been waylaid by Twitter. Ironically it was Stephen Fry who inspired me - and thousands more, I guess - to subscribe. I enjoyed your contributions and I would never have heard of Stephen Green had it not been for you. What a hole that would have left in my life!
It gets worse than Twitter. ALL my friends are currently trying to make me join the next new fad "www.me2everyone.com" which will apparently allow you to blog AND live an alternate "virtual" life AND make you rich. Somehow. Arrgggghhhh.
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