# Explain the allure of Twitter **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 24, 2009, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-allure-of-twitter/487271 "2009-02-24T21:16:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![newcrasher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b3f665/32.png) [@newcrasher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/newcrasher)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2009, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-allure-of-twitter/487271/1 "2009-02-24T21:16:21Z")
I am a techy, gadgety kind of guy. But for the life of me I don’t understand Twitter. Yeah so you can make short posts. Seems like glorified Facebook statuses to me. Why the enthusiasm, especially among journalists? ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2009, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-allure-of-twitter/487271/2 "2009-02-24T21:27:51Z")
Count me in as someone who’s confused by this. I’ve occasionally consulted with a mothering-support non-profit which recently launched a Twitter-esque “microblogging” site. When I asked why they’d spent time and money on this project when the non-profit is leaking money like a holed barge, the non-profit’s official response was “but this is what all the young, hip new moms are doing these days!” Total number of “Twitters” on the new site during the last two weeks: zero. I’m with you, I wonder whether anyone other than journalists, celebrities, and similarly self-obsessed folks care one twit about Twitter. ---
**Author:** ![Kid\_A\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Kid\_A\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kid_A_1)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2009, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-allure-of-twitter/487271/3 "2009-02-24T21:38:29Z")
I love it. It’s a glammed up RSS feed that allows me to follow the major news as well as news that is much more local. I’m currently following the Toronto City Council budget meeting through Twitter. Short of watching the meeting myself, there’s no other way to access this information. No major media will be covering it except for their 1 minute summary at 6:00. I enjoy hearing the details. It’s great for concert announcements. Between the record labels, the promoters, and the bands themselves, nothing has slipped under my radar. Again, information that would be much more difficult to locate with Twitter. And no more having to surf to all of the major news sites for breaking news. I get it delivered to me all in one place. And Tina Fey’s feed is worth the price of admission. “Somewhere a man named Barack Obama sits on a toilet and thinks the same thing I do: I need to trim my toe nails.” “What does Monica Lewinski say to her new boyfriend? “It’s close, but it’s no cigar.”” ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2009, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-allure-of-twitter/487271/4 "2009-02-24T22:20:27Z")
> [@Kid\_A](#): > > I love it. It’s a glammed up RSS feed that allows me to follow the major news as well as news that is much more local. I’m currently following the Toronto City Council budget meeting through Twitter. Short of watching the meeting myself, there’s no other way to access this information. No major media will be covering it except for their 1 minute summary at 6:00. I enjoy hearing the details. This is what drives me crazy about Twitter. It’s great for news. For the average person, it’s idiotic. Do I give a shit that Mary is baking a pie or Steve is watching porno? Hell no. But if my favorite band wants to post the release date of their next CD, that’s important information. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2009, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-allure-of-twitter/487271/5 "2009-02-24T22:48:39Z")
> [@Kid\_A](#): > > I love it. It’s a glammed up RSS feed that allows me to follow the major news as well as news that is much more local. I’m currently following the Toronto City Council budget meeting through Twitter. Short of watching the meeting myself, there’s no other way to access this information. No major media will be covering it except for their 1 minute summary at 6:00. I enjoy hearing the details. > > It’s great for concert announcements. Between the record labels, the promoters, and the bands themselves, nothing has slipped under my radar. Again, information that would be much more difficult to locate with Twitter. > > And no more having to surf to all of the major news sites for breaking news. I get it delivered to me all in one place. > > And Tina Fey’s feed is worth the price of admission. > > “Somewhere a man named Barack Obama sits on a toilet and thinks the same thing I do: I need to trim my toe nails.” > > “What does Monica Lewinski say to her new boyfriend? “It’s close, but it’s no cigar.”” Oh man, I gotta find Fey’s Twitter account now. ---
**Author:** ![Cubsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2009, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-allure-of-twitter/487271/6 "2009-02-24T23:16:19Z")
That shit is fucking stupid. I don’t get it either. My wife does Facebook and you can see people who have posted shit like “Not working out and getting fat” or “putting kids to bed”. Seriously? Who gives a shit. That shit is fucking stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Kid\_A\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Kid\_A\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kid_A_1)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2009, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-allure-of-twitter/487271/7 "2009-02-24T23:44:17Z")
What? Did you not see my post? The value of Twitter is not in the mundane aspects of your friend’s lives but it’s in the instant dissemination of news from a multitude of sources. Just like any other tool, it’s how you use it. If you choose to follow those feeds then you’ve only got yourself to blame. ---
**Author:** ![Emmy2635](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/919ad9/32.png) [@Emmy2635](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emmy2635)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2009, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-allure-of-twitter/487271/8 "2009-02-25T00:00:18Z")
Apparently that is a [fake account](http://www.tvsquad.com/2009/02/14/30-rock-update-fey-says-it-wasnt-product-placement-and-thats/)for Tina Fey. Pretty funny, though. ---
**Author:** ![Kid\_A\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Kid\_A\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kid_A_1)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2009, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-allure-of-twitter/487271/9 "2009-02-25T00:04:37Z")
Damn…still funny though. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-allure-of-twitter/487271/10 "2009-04-02T02:01:16Z")
Here’s a very stupid question: What exactly _is_ twitter? I know it’s short statements ala Facebook status as mentioned above, but are they sent to you by email? Text message? Podcast? How do you get the twitter things? (Not that I think I’d want to- I did a thread recently on my hatred of texting and I think attention spans are short enough already.) ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-allure-of-twitter/487271/11 "2009-04-02T02:16:29Z")
I’ve never twittered, but it seems like I’m _constantly_ hearing about it lately. This morning on the radio I heard that the president (or something) of Zappos Shoes, I think it was, says that he thinks that Twitter makes him a better person, because it’s like you’re being watched all the time and all of your decisions are out there for everyone to see. I think I would not like that. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-allure-of-twitter/487271/12 "2009-04-02T02:49:10Z")
I’d heard about it but didn’t know what it was really until watching the handy video here: [http://twitter.com/](http://twitter.com/) I now know what it is but still don’t think I’d be interested in participating (but I don’t do facebook or anything else either). ---
**Author:** ![The\_Shroud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/439d5e/32.png) [@The\_Shroud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Shroud)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-allure-of-twitter/487271/13 "2009-04-02T03:28:53Z")
I’ve started to find it more interesting now that I’ve added some news/celebrity sources instead of just people I know. I’m also trying out [Twitterific](http://iconfactory.com/software/twitterrific) on my Mac, and I like how the messages pop up unobtrusively using [Growl](http://growl.info/) and disappear after a few seconds. Seems like it has a double personality: the attention-whoring mood message side, and the newfangled news-ticker side. I enjoy it mostly for the latter purpose. ---
**Author:** ![slaphead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@slaphead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slaphead)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-allure-of-twitter/487271/14 "2009-04-02T13:26:56Z")
> [@newcrasher](#): > > Why the enthusiasm, especially among journalists? Reading twitters lets them pretend they are on the cutting edge and aware of every current event without actually having to do any work. Writing twitters feeds their delusion that they are important and the rest of the world is hanging on their every word. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-allure-of-twitter/487271/15 "2009-04-02T13:38:44Z")
\*\* It’s all about me! It’s all about me!!! Taking the dog in for an anal gland squeeze! \*\*What the fuck. I am thoroughly annoyed by the fact that regular non-news people do this. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-allure-of-twitter/487271/16 "2009-04-02T13:45:37Z")
> [@Kid\_A](#): > > And Tina Fey’s feed is worth the price of admission. > > “Somewhere a man named Barack Obama sits on a toilet and thinks the same thing I do: I need to trim my toe nails.” Somewhere else a man named **Beware of Doug** sits at a laptop and thinks: “I need to trim Tina Fey’s toe nails.” > [@person using bigass blue letters just upthread](#): > > It’s all about me! It’s all about me!!! Taking the dog in for an anal gland squeeze! Catchy. Can we put some music to that? In other news, [poop is coming out](http://data.tumblr.com/g0vKHeINWirbib2eLLYgcdiNo1_500.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-allure-of-twitter/487271/17 "2009-04-02T14:24:21Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#): > > \*\* It’s all about me! It’s all about me!!! Taking the dog in for an anal gland squeeze! \*\*What the fuck. I am thoroughly annoyed by the fact that regular non-news people do this. Yet you just posted your own trivial opinion on a trivial site on a trivial message board. It’s the same thing. In the interest of full disclosure: yes, I have an account. I use it as a delayed chat program, mostly. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-allure-of-twitter/487271/18 "2009-04-02T14:33:25Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Here’s a very stupid question: > > What exactly _is_ twitter? I know it’s short statements ala Facebook status as mentioned above, but are they sent to you by email? Text message? Podcast? How do you get the twitter things? (Not that I think I’d want to- I did a thread recently on my hatred of texting and I think attention spans are short enough already.) I get my updates via phone. I only have a text-based phone (no browser or slick interface) so it kind of sucks when people’s messages are mostly URL (“This is what I am doing now [link to pic]”). You can also set up your feed (your posts) to be shown on your web site or blog. I think you can plug in your friends’ feeds (other people you follow) on iGoogle and other personalized portals. Some people have their Twitter linked directly to Facebook so when they tweet that becomes their Facebook status. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-allure-of-twitter/487271/19 "2009-04-02T17:30:24Z")
I hate texting. I don’t have text messaging enabled on my cell phone. But yea, I am the owner of a 14-year-old daughter and she adores it. I use Twitter to text information to her from my computer at work, and she can read it after school (or whatever). Otherwise, and for every other use I have tried, it’s stupid and I predict it will probably be gone in 14 months. ---
**Author:** ![MichaelJohnBertrand](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dfb087/32.png) [@MichaelJohnBertrand](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelJohnBertrand)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-allure-of-twitter/487271/20 "2009-04-02T18:15:49Z")
Right now, the primary appeal is access to people who are famous-ish, whom I would never otherwise get a chance to meet, even online. So partly, it’s an “everyone is there because everyone is there” kind of place. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-allure-of-twitter/487271.md?page=2)