Twitter a BlowHard Platform?

When I was at Gnomedex, people were sending out “tweets” all the time on Twitter. I found it to be really ironic, actually, considering that my conversations with people usually gravitate to the fact that Twitter is rather useless. But, since bloggers are usually first in line to try the latest crap idea on the internet, I guess a lot of people in the audience thought people cared enough about what they said that they needed to read it in real time.

Then, I saw Pirillo’s first analysis of Gnomedex and read this:

I believe the functionality of Twitter at Gnomedex had an overwhelmingly negative impact, both on-site and after the event. It provided an immediate emotional outlet for people who - in some cases - shot first and asked questions later.

So very true. What we had at Gnomedex were people typing in “off the cuff” thoughts about speakers as the speakers were still on stage. I mean, come on. It completely takes the thought out it, and is borderline rude.

Which leads me to ask - is Twitter just a platform for blowhards?

I have given Twitter a try. I actually have it pulled into the sidebar on my personal blog. But, I don’t use it often, and the reason is because I’m not sure that it really has any value. I asked the question a few weeks ago - Is Twitter of Any Use to Anybody ? I outlined some legit uses for the platform. But, unfortunately, most people don’t use it for those kinds of reasons. They use it to, instead, bloviate. I mean, look at the public timeline and refresh every a few seconds. Try to find something on there worth ANYONE’s time.

As for bloggers, I think it is best for a blogger to offer something with thought to it. Something that adds to the public pool of knowledge, so to speak. This is why a good blogger is worth his weight in gold and gets traffic. Twitter is not at all conducive to that. It limits you to 160 characters, and invites people with humongous egos to type crap into the public cesspool of knowledge.

I don’t really blame Twitter for it. Its just a social media platform and you can’t judge the platform by what it’s users try to do with it. It’s similar to UStream. Ustream is actually a really cool platform, but a huge majority of it’s users offer really crappy content. You can’t blame Ustream for that any more than you can blame Twitter for stupid “tweets”.

I think a self-respecting blogger needs to exercise some thought in how they use Twitter. If that means you don’t even use it, then fine. I mean, not EVERY new social platform HAS to be used. I may continue to use it in some capacity, I don’t know yet. I’ve tried it, and once I get over the fact that I can post to my site from my cell phone (which is admittedly cool), I’m left wondering what pile of social poo I just stepped into.

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