I was initially sceptical about Twitter when there was a big buzz about it - it just seemed similar to the feature on Facebook where you can tell everyone what you are doing...and no one really cares. "Just eating a bacon sandwich", "Listening to my favourite song", "Going off down the pub later" - that side of Twitter I don't find very appealing.I wondered if it could be used to keep in touch with friends and family, but you can't really say all you want to in 140 characters. So I was left pondering what the benefits could be.
Then I started writing my film blog; reviews, articles and features about cinema. I wanted to find somewhere where I could interact with like-minded people, share my thoughts about movies and let people know when I'd posted something new on my blog. Twitter was the answer. Short, sharp, to-the-point tweets with interesting tidbits and links to pictures or more in-depth articles elsewhere.
It can be of great use to organisations and people with something to say, a way to provide their 'followers' (those who are interested in them) with information. It could be of benefit to libraries that want to find a way to interact with their readers and let them know about opening hours, events, changes, acquisitions, etc. Saying that, I realise Twitter is not for everyone and there are those who loathe it. I don't think it should be used begrudgingly because only when people are positive about it and make an effort, will they be able to see the benefits.
Totally agree with you that I don't care if people had chicken for dinner or it they are bored... and I find distracting and annoying trying to filter all those irrelevant comments and fisihing out only the good ones.
ReplyDeleteLove your final comment, and it's very true that only when you're positive and try to see if from a different point of view, you will see the benefits.