# Please explain Twitter for boneheaded me. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 24, 2012, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-twitter-for-boneheaded-me/629230 "2012-07-24T13:23:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-twitter-for-boneheaded-me/629230/41 "2012-07-25T16:56:45Z")
As I’ve said in previous threads, I just got an iPad, so I finally have a way to access the 'Net “on the go,” as I lack a smartphone. I only know of one friend (at least right now) who’s on Twitter, but he’s a good one, and he’s bad about answering phone calls and e-mails. I have a lot of interests, of course, across a variety of types. I’m not on Facebook, and I prefer not to be. So it sounds like having the account may be handy for me, if only for the news? ---
**Author:** ![Haunted\_Pasta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/94ad74/32.png) [@Haunted\_Pasta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Haunted_Pasta)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-twitter-for-boneheaded-me/629230/42 "2012-07-25T17:17:16Z")
There’s no way to post pictures of peoples’ cats on Twitter, is there? Because if there’s not, I might switch over from Facebook within the next five seconds. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-twitter-for-boneheaded-me/629230/43 "2012-07-25T17:29:00Z")
If I understand correctly, to see a pic through Twitter, you need to choose to click a link. ---
**Author:** ![Lynnsey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7bcc69/32.png) [@Lynnsey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynnsey)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-twitter-for-boneheaded-me/629230/44 "2012-07-25T18:11:13Z")
Here is what I don’t like/trust about Twitter. A lot of people seem to use “tiny url” links in their tweets (because the characters are so limited) and I am very hesitant to click on them because DH is an IT guy who has drilled it into my head time and time again to not click on unknown links! So, I don’t find it useful to me because I have no way of knowing if the link is good (safe) or not before I click on it. ---
**Author:** ![antonio107](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7ea924/32.png) [@antonio107](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antonio107)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-twitter-for-boneheaded-me/629230/45 "2012-07-25T18:16:57Z")
> [@Lynnsey](#): > > Here is what I don’t like/trust about Twitter. A lot of people seem to use “tiny url” links in their tweets (because the characters are so limited) and I am very hesitant to click on them because DH is an IT guy who has drilled it into my head time and time again to not click on unknown links! So, I don’t find it useful to me because I have no way of knowing if the link is good (safe) or not before I click on it. A guy I follow had one of those bit.ly links to the frontpage of his blog. Because it wasn’t a permalink page but rather, just his main front of the blog, bit.ly gave me a warning saying that I shouldn’t click on it because the content keeps shifting. That’s decent of them, I suppose! ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-twitter-for-boneheaded-me/629230/46 "2012-07-26T00:08:26Z")
> [@Lynnsey](#): > > Here is what I don’t like/trust about Twitter. A lot of people seem to use “tiny url” links in their tweets (because the characters are so limited) and I am very hesitant to click on them because DH is an IT guy who has drilled it into my head time and time again to not click on unknown links! So, I don’t find it useful to me because I have no way of knowing if the link is good (safe) or not before I click on it. That’s usually automated by twitter though as far as I can see, not by the user. ---
**Author:** ![moejoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de053/32.png) [@moejoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moejoe)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-twitter-for-boneheaded-me/629230/47 "2012-07-26T01:52:45Z")
Do most people access twitter from their computers or with their phones? If you follow someone/thing, do you get a text or an email whenever they post something? Also how easy is it to unfollow if you decide they suck? ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-twitter-for-boneheaded-me/629230/48 "2012-07-26T02:24:55Z")
Twitter has uses, but don’t treat it like a diary. A whole mess more people read you than follow you… ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-twitter-for-boneheaded-me/629230/49 "2012-07-26T02:32:18Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > Hell, part of the reason I left FB is because even that limits your words in a post; why would I want to be limited even more severely? FYI, this is no longer true as of… I dunno, several months ago? Maybe longer. There’s no length limit on Facebook posts anymore. Or if there is, it’s so high that you can get in several paragraphs at least before you hit it. I like Twitter because a lot of people are interesting and funny on it. I also get a lot of breaking news that way. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-twitter-for-boneheaded-me/629230/50 "2012-07-26T02:33:49Z")
> [@moejoe](#): > > Do most people access twitter from their computers or with their phones? If you follow someone/thing, do you get a text or an email whenever they post something? Also how easy is it to unfollow if you decide they suck? It’s pretty much identical to Facebook in that you can either go to the website from your computer, or you can use the Twitter (or Facebook) app on your phone. Both are easy enough. You only get text/email notifications if you choose to set up your notifications that way. And unfollowing someone is literally a single click of a button. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-twitter-for-boneheaded-me/629230/51 "2012-07-26T16:38:48Z")
I enjoy Twitter enormously. I don’t follow celebrities much, mostly (1) Arts organizations & Movie sites to read articles, listings, and other upcoming events, especially since keeping track of everything in the Bay Area can be tough (2) Ordinary people. There’s something about the 140-character format that really nurtures creativity-though-economy. Try telling a joke, or writing a poem in that frame. It’s hard, but when people do it well and often, I find it worth following. I’ve made some very good friends on Twitter, because (something I don’t remember seeing in the thread yet), beyond the Cocktail Party angle, you can DM (Direct Message) privately and have extended conversations that way. A bit like Kik, except w/the character limits, I’ve gotten closer to more people more quickly there than any other online board or application (including here). I’m on FB but very rarely go because I find it way too glurgey, and more difficult to wade through one’s timeline. Twitter moves faster, is far more irreverent and subversive, and racier, too. YMMV on whether that matters to you, there may be people who exclusively post “Arrived at the mall now. What should I eat?” but I don’t follow those people either. The one thing I find most hilarious about Twitter is how it’s portrayed in the media. Whenever a news network publishes a Tweet by an average person, it’s invariably a really really bad Tweet. I read so many that are witty, trenchant, blistering, or excellent at crystallizing an argument, but you never see those represented. Instead, it’s some dumbass saying your usual dumbass thing. Maybe that’s what a lot of Twitter is, but that’s not where the appeal lies with me. Just my $0.02. ---
**Author:** ![Farmer\_Jane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Farmer\_Jane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Farmer_Jane)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-twitter-for-boneheaded-me/629230/52 "2012-07-26T16:46:15Z")
I’m friends with a person who works at a company that had Twitter as a client years ago. Twitter employed them because Twitter wasn’t reaching their base effectively. I always thought that ironic that a social media platform needed consulting on how to better communicate. 🙂 edit: [Twitter is down at the moment](http://www.boston.com/business/technology/2012/07/26/eyes-london-twitter-down-royal-cool/qCWpuBBXjORDFr5YhNqY3M/story.html)! ---
**Author:** ![Meurglys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@Meurglys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meurglys)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-twitter-for-boneheaded-me/629230/53 "2012-07-26T16:51:32Z")
> [@MovieMogul](#): > > …you can DM (Direct Message) privately and have extended conversations that way. A bit like Kik, except w/the character limits, I’ve gotten closer to more people more quickly there than any other online board or application (including here) I was looking over my recent personal twitter stream and I think a good 2/3rds of my tweets are either replies or direct messages! ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2012, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-twitter-for-boneheaded-me/629230/54 "2012-07-29T05:22:29Z")
> [@Meurglys](#): > > I was looking over my recent personal twitter stream and I think a good 2/3rds of my tweets are either replies or direct messages! Yeah, if you include RT’s, mine is 90%. I don’t post much “original” myself. ---
**Author:** ![gardentraveler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gardentraveler/32/3576_2.png) [@gardentraveler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gardentraveler)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2012, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-twitter-for-boneheaded-me/629230/55 "2012-07-29T16:17:07Z")
I don’t post much either and also use it as a type of RSS. I agree that you should be patient and put some work into figuring out who to follow and when to unfollow someone. ([Scott Simon](https://twitter.com/nprscottsimon)) was the first person I followed. He does an interesting mix of personal and professional. He led me to other interesting people and organizations, who in turn… I’m following 432 people now. [This TED talk](http://www.ted.com/talks/ethan_zuckerman.html) that is the item that has had the greatest influence on how I shape my feed. [Here’s a pretty good list](http://mashable.com/2012/07/27/smart-twitter-accounts/)of 25 Twitter accounts that will make you smarter (Mashable’s word choice, not mine.) ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2012, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-twitter-for-boneheaded-me/629230/56 "2012-07-29T16:25:07Z")
> [@gardentraveler](#): > > [This TED talk](http://www.ted.com/talks/ethan_zuckerman.html) that is the item that has had the greatest influence on how I shape my feed. > > [Here’s a pretty good list](http://mashable.com/2012/07/27/smart-twitter-accounts/)of 25 Twitter accounts that will make you smarter (Mashable’s word choice, not mine.) Ooh, thanks for both of these. I’m always looking for new interesting accounts to add to my feed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-twitter-for-boneheaded-me/629230.md?page=2)