Twitter is a phenomenon, that’s for sure: an Internet networking site where you have only 140 characters or less to connect with other people.

Most “Tweets”, or comments, occur at the chat level of the encounter (individuals sharing thoughts, experiences, enthusiasm, music, jokes, hobbies, breaking news) or involve people giving immediate reactions to any of these. They occur in real time and are recorded along a timeline. But you can collect tweets that others have addressed to or about you by looking back at the timeline you previously wrote or were mentioned in.

Most tweets don’t involve real intimacy. People on the site look for what catches their attention right away. Each comment is marked with the avatar identity chosen by the Twitter user, so you can see who is making comments that interest you and choose to continuously “follow” that person – add their thoughts to your timeline. And, of course, people can follow you.

It’s fun to browse the different broadcasts for interest, because the audience is so wide that the tweets cover a wide variety of topics. You can choose. And there is a security measure built into the system: you can choose not to see someone’s comments if you want, and even block them entirely if you want.

You can block spammers, remove them from your timeline. But the entrance (mine included) varies a lot. Someone whose tweets seem boring may surprise over time. And most people like to see their follower / follower number increase; many are building a following of some kind, just like a band does to get that precious record deal.

Like most people, my interest has grown as my follower count has grown. So far I have scrutinized my followers one by one, reviewing their profiles individually. Just now an email arrives in my regular email inbox telling me that someone is following me. But I can see that there will come a time when managing the stream in this way would be inconvenient and time consuming. At that point I’ll probably be looking to find an additional “bot” or script to do it for me … but not yet.

All of this takes time. As in “real life,” building trust doesn’t happen overnight. You need to learn the rules of the game, as they are.

  1. Show people that you are not only there to take their money, but you will also share a little about yourself and what you think is important.
  2. Unless you’re a ‘sleb, a great wit, or a guru, you need to do more than give your immortal thoughts on life – show interest and curiosity in the tweets / lives of others. American comedians and Stephen Fry still tweet according to the rules; fewer rap and movie stars
  3. Convey to those on your timeline – you, your followers, and those you’ve followed – whatever caught your attention. That’s called “re-tweeting” RT for short, but it could be called “showing generosity.”
  4. Say what you want to say, but be considerate: Just like in email, it’s surprisingly easy to get hurt or be hurt.

Some tweeters have been tweeting for years, but I’ve only been tweeting for three months. I found the learning curve frustrating and unnerving for the first six weeks. But as my skill has increased, so has my sense of satisfaction. My meetings have been growing steadily in terms of scope and interest.

This week I graduated, I did what I would call “first contact”. Not just normal light talk, but real conversation, in which I got on my heels and had to listen and respond with all my wits. It left me excited / confused / anxious – not for nothing is “first contact” the subject of so many apocryphal science fiction movies.

Although it was exhilarating, I fought the urge to run away before this encounter was really over, especially when it became clear that the person on the other side of the conversation was at least as smart as me, and also very different from my previous “chat” fantasies. about him. I misjudged your gender, which I understand is a classic Twitter mistake; many choose animals or other avatars that are gender neutral or different from their own.

In short, it was a very real, very interesting encounter, but in my desire to explore the connection I probably jumped on my need to go slow. My Twitter contact was older than me and he was very nice about this, but he confronted me for expressing myself carelessly.

Well also.

So Twitter IS, potentially, personal. It is NOT controlled by the mob or big business, not yet: the money men who bring in the venture capital are having a hard time figuring out how they are going to benefit from it.

Well, I’m certainly not going to tell you – for me, the value of Twitter is that there are many real people on this network, sharing their interests and passions. I am learning about their lives, their humor, their tastes, little by little. The bite size makes this process safer than most online encounters and much more manageable; And for once it’s not dominated by tweens.

I can handle innuendo from moneymakers without having my pocket stolen. So I hope to be on Twitter for some time. Are you interested? Excellent. Maybe I’ll see you online.

(c) Alexandra Brunel 2009. All rights reserved.

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