Archive for April, 2009
We have a tendency to think of things in terms of numerical values first. We have a craving for “more” and the easiest way to measure quantity is by counting.
Maybe that’s why so many people quickly develop an obsession with boosting their twitter follower count to the highest possible number. If 100 followers is good, 1,000 will be better and 10,000 would be better than that.
That’s a fairly sound-looking argument at fist glance. When you think about what makes Twitter work, you’ll realize Read the rest of this entry »
Do you know the difference between broadcasting on twitter” rel=”tag”>twitter and actually having a conversation? The trick is one little symbol. “@”.
That’s right, the SHIFT+2 on your keyboard spells the difference between a message sent to all of your followers and one that’s sent directly to another individual.
That has some obvious significance in terms of the mechanics of site use, but it has some symbolic significance, too. You need to be an “@” kind of person if you’re going to make Twitter work for Read the rest of this entry »
What makes twitter work? It’s not the platform. Yes, they’ve done a great job of setting up a system. It’s pretty robust, people take to it quickly, it’s easy to use and it’s adequate in terms of functionality. That isn’t why it’s buzzing right along, though.
The main reason Twitter works is because it provides people with a chance to make human connections easily. It’s probably the easiest way to make connections online and that’s only going to continue as the user base grows.
When you Read the rest of this entry »