Thoughts on Twitter

[A Link In Time]

I understand that this is a very random and somewhat spontaneous topic, however, I wanted to hear your thoughts on this specific social networking site. Hundreds of millions of tweets have been made on the social networking site and nearly two billion search queries are made there daily. Nevertheless, the site never managed to reach the amazing heights of Facebook which has around three times as many users and continues to be viewed as the "black sheep" of social networking.

Today, I wanted to ask the ZeldaDungeon.net Forum Community about its thoughts on this radically different approach to social networking. And no, saying that Twitter is "radical" certainly isn't an overstatement. It should be noted that the most recent competitor to the fray, Google +, decided to follow in Facebook's footsteps. What sets Twitter apart from the aforementioned two sites is that the messages sent are limited to a mere 140 characters. If you've never utilized social networking sites, the best analogy on this site can be made to the shoutbox although it's certainly not a stretch to say Twitter is a chat world. Twitter also casts the user in the spotlight in a more obvious way than its indirect competitors and therefore in some ways offers a more personal experience.

What are your general thoughts on Twitter? Do you find it superior or inferior to Facebook/Google+? Why? What are some things that could be fixed about Twitter to make for a better user experience?

 

[Zelda Fangirl]

I really don't see the point of having a twitter account at the moment because I feel it lacks of features that make other social networks better. You can't comment on other people statutes, pictures, etc. The only thing that seems useful for me is for famous people, because their followers are always pending of their tweets, but anyway, if you compare the amount of followers on any artist, company, etc to the number of Likes on Facebook, it'll always be a huge difference, which indicates that Facebook is more used than twitter.

Now I don't know about Google+ because I have never seen it in use yet, until it has a considerable number of users I'll male an opinion about it.

 

[guapo2003]

Honestly, I don't have a Twitter account and I never will. I don't see the point in it. It's a waste of time and only for people who are extremely bored with their life that they can't do anything productive. I honestly don't care to hear about people's lives and their thoughts. It's just a waste of time and not very many people are going to care either. All it is, is a place to blog and hopefully get some input. I honestly have other places I would rather go and waste time. Of course this is all just my opinion before anyone starts shouting at me saying Twitter is the best thing ever and you don't know what you are talking about.

 

[misskitten]

I like twitter, and I like it better than other social networking sites. It's instant, and I like that opposed to other social networking sites where you both have to approve one another to be linked, twitter separates it into what you follow and who follows you. It gives us freedom. It doesn't have to go two ways.

And for whoever said you can't comment on the things people tweet, you're wrong. You can comment, you reply to the tweet and people who see your reply can click on your tweet and see which tweet specifically you're responding to.

 

[Vanessa28]

I don't mind what people use but I just don't see the point in Twitter. I give a bit gross example so forgive me but when someone twitters: "I have to poop right now so I walk to the bathroom". Do they really think people care about what they do on the bathroom or something? Sure, it can be very handy when big news is announced anjd it is true but besides that I don't see the point in Twitter. I personally can't find my way there

 

[misskitten]

Twitter is basically one big chatroom, only we get to choose whose messages we see. If someone tweets a lot of uninteresing crap we can unfollow or even block/report (if they're spam-accounts). The thing with twitter is that you generally don't see the point of it until you actually try it. I saw absolutely no point to twitter before I got my account, but then I came across a couple of interesting people that I wouldn't mind keeping tabs on, so I created an account and followed said people, then I got in touch with more like-minded people and things just escalated from there.

Twitter works well for celebrities, for news/spoiler channels, for personal interaction. I find it dead useful to keep up to date on news/spoilers for my favorite shows. I used to go to specific spoiler-dedicated parts of forums for that, but now I get the news pretty much as soon as it's out there. Faster than any forum or site. Twitter is also a good RPG-medium for those into that. As you can set up channels for the characters, link them together and do the whol RPG through tweets. Some shows even have official channels for characters and they can be pretty hilarious to follow - it's entertaining plus it helps the show keep the fans interested during the hiatuses. It's also great for self-promotion, for everything from fanwork to more original work.

Sure, some of these things can be done on other social networking sites, but twitter simplifies the process. One thing I dislike with bigger social networking sites is that they are just going TOO big, they are trying to cover everything and the result is just a huge site that gets more and more complicated to maneuver, harder to find the things you want to find... I stopped using myspace years and years ago, the only times I care to visit facebook is if someone messages me directly or post something directly on my wall, the rest of the time I couldn't care less about the site. Twitter, however, I use daily - I need to keep in touch and since I don't have to automatically follow everone who wants to follow me, my feed is only filled with content of accounts I follow, no one else.

 

[Koosholts]

I prefer Twitter over Facebook because it gets the job done better and in a simpler manner then other social networking sites. The point of a social network site is to keep in contact with other people and to socialize with other people. Twitter achieves that in the simplest way possible and in a user friendly manner. Facebook seems to cluttered at times with everyone making news feeds and statuses every five minutes it seems like.

Like misskitten said above me, you can choose to see what updates you're getting. If you don't want to see somebody tweet about taking a dump, then just don't follow them. How is stating that your pooping on twitter any different then seeing it on facebook, because I've seen a comment in that regard posted on both sites. Twitter is a quick and easy way to let people know what you are doing and to stay in contact with people, which is just what Facebook does. I think twitter just does it in a better fashion.

 

[DisappearingMist]

Twitter has a different purpose than Facebook and Google+. It's about quick communication, sharing and interaction, and isn't meant to be about the visual experience of say Facebook's timeline.

I personally enjoy Twitter, as well as Facebook and Google+. I use Facebook for socializing, and twitter for sharing information with others. I don't use it on my phone, but I am on my computer constantly, so I can use it effectively.

I use it to keep up with my favorite bands, fansites and news websites. I love seeing interactions between celebrities and fans, as well as the interesting and humorous things people tweet. One reason I enjoy doing the ZD twitter account is to provide that fun atmosphere for fans. It's cool to be on both sides of the coin.

 

[LinkLover]

I like Twitter to keep up on new trends and to get easy information about my favorite bands, shows, etc. It's not really about socializing, like Facebook. It's more of an easy way to inform about important things going on in your life, right in the moment.

 

[purplelink]

Twitter is pointless to put bluntly.