I've been using Twitter less and less lately, and my enthusiasm for it has waned to almost zero. I've been reading articles about the Twitter backlash. They seem to be suggesting that existing users are turning against Twitter because it is being flooded by hordes of new users sputtering endless inane commentary. I'm not sure how this can be the case, since one needs to be following these people in order to be aware of what they are saying. I haven't followed that many new people recently and I never see the fail whale, so my burgeoning indifference is coming from somewhere else.
I think in part it is to do with the conflict between the professional and private personas that people display online. My favourite Twitter friends are those who tweet about their lives, their feelings, their boyfriend troubles, their everyday traumas and amusements. But a large proportion of the people I follow are there partly or mainly for business, and can't risk exposing themselves in that way. In fact, since I've started to meet other users at real life events, and some of those users have enquired as to what I do and requested my business card in order to put me in touch with potential clients, I've felt too constrained to really use Twitter to express myself, as I felt able to do a few months ago.
I'm not complaining. One of the things that I liked about Twitter in the beginning was that I ended up carrying many of my online conversations into meat space, partly because of my involvement in Twestival, but also because of other ad hoc arrangements, like the wonderful Edinburgh Social Media Coffee Morning, pub quizzes, tweet ups and dinners. I still think Twitter is a good way of meeting people. The enthusiasm for tweet ups hints at people's desire to form real connections in an environment where they don't feel constrained. All of the professional tweeters I've met have been a great deal more interesting in real life than they've allowed themselves to be online.
Another unpleasant new trend I've noticed recently is for users to form small cliques that endlessly ass kiss each other. One of Twitter's early strengths was as a recommendation tool, but such recommendations only carry weight if they are done genuinely and sufficiently infrequently so as not to alienate other users. Follow Friday is a good example of this. At the beginning users were recommending quite interesting people to follow. Now they seem to be recommending people they feel they ought to. There is also a rather sickening trend towards false positivity. I think people feel unable to express a negative sentiment in case it reflects badly on them. As a result there are lot of people who project an image of being constantly on the verge of orgasmic bliss. I find these twitterers as irritating as I do those who constantly whinge.
To my mind, Twitter is echoing the trajectory of Blogger back in the early noughties (ironic given Evan Williams' involvement in both). I had a Blogger blog back in 2002 and found it a good way to start conversations with people. There was a lot of random traffic, and people commented regularly on each other's blogs. Today, even established bloggers note the dearth of traffic and commentary on their blogs. People still read blogs, but they've stopped commenting on them, and something similar is happening with Twitter. People are tweeting more but responding less, as Twitter becomes a platform for displaying your business credentials or personal agenda. This has had the twin effect of making me feel like I'm 'showing off' when I tweet, and that my followers are 'spying' on me, rather than engaging with what I say or telling me something real about themselves.
I'm not quite at the point of closing my account, but I think it's safe to say my love affair with Twitter is over. I'll watch its progress with interest, while keeping my eye out for smaller, newer, more interesting social media platforms.
NYT: Last Ones Left in a Toxic Town
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12 comments:
I still like Twitter, but I worry about every tweet - I worry that my personal tweets will make me look flaky to work people who follow me, and my businessy tweets will make me look like a pretentious tosser to my friend-followers. Maybe I just am a flaky, pretentious tosser.
I might give it all up and take up gardening as a hobby instead.
I found your post to be authenitic and very pertinent. I've been wondering about the public vs private spheres clashing on twitter for some time.
In time maybe we will learn to be more accepting of genuine transparency and allow people to just be themselves in such a forum and not hold it against them professionally, but I agree that this time is likely far off. On the other hand, I see many people on twitter behaving in a way that is consistently negative, pejorative or innapropriate.
I hope some happy balance can be found. @marialavis
Was talking with Hugo about this yesterday: about how everyone is (at least) two people under one skin.
Now that online communities are something that everyone *does* I think we are all starting to feel this conflict between our identities, and to question how best to present ourselves.
I know what you mean about the gardening. Last week i wrote a flippant comment on a forum that was read by someone who knows me and taken to be a personal attack. I then received a number of unbelievably vicious emails and texts from this person, who has now lapsed into an embarrassed silence after I explained that my comment was not directed at him. Makes me feel kind of jaded.
@marialavis I like the fact that you think there may come a time when we can behave genuinely in online arenas without fear of professional censure. I wonder to what extent this disjunct is a cultural thing. It seems very prevalent among Brits and Americans, but is it the same everywhere?
can tell you've been posting for a while
succinct and interesting points
from my pov
i like the idea of business-social mashup
and a redefinition of public-private
westerners are way too up-tight
and a bit of relaxation in this regard
is what is called for
minimal virtual maximum physical
is the strongest point of your blog
imho
and twitter is interesting to me for this reason
and sounds like you get a lot out of meeting people and engaging them deeper than you would without twitter as a starter for 10
Certainly starting to feel the same way after only a month or so online with Twitter. Those Tweeters that friends have put me in touch with do communicate, but those that I find by looking in public or nearby generally tend to not say anything. It does make them seem to be grossly self obsessed.
I love Web 2.0 for the interaction with people, something I strive to get out of 'real life' strangers too as I think most people are probably happy to be engaged in chit chat but nervous of nutters. Those that use Twitter and interact with others are imho, by far the most interesting.
Well I hope you don't consider me to be one of those professional business users. I don't have any wares to sell.
HSU/Chris: I do prefer real world interaction, but online interaction has been a nice compliment for the past few years. I hope it stays that way. And yeah, westerners are too uptight, me included.
Keith: What's your Twitter name and I'll tell you...
Good point.
I'm known as @keithemmerson
I liked this article a lot by the way, you raise many good points
Keith: Ahah. I totally didn't recognise you without Mr T by your side. Thanks!
This is all so wrong. Nobody's mentioned Stephen Fry. In a lift. Ha ha. He said poo and stuff.
I know exactly what you mean. I finding it hard to really be myself on Twitter, because my account is so work orientated. I think that is why I've never really got tired of Facebook. I try to keep is as closed off to work and outside eyes as possible and only let in people that I have had a face to face conversation with. There, I feel comfortable saying what ever I like.
I also find the whole followfriday thing curious. I never take part, because I'm worried I'll offend someone because I can't mention everyone worth following in 140 characters. Also, I don't think I've ever followed anyone on the recommendation from someones followfriday suggestions.
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