shakh your bootie

Errrm. What is it?????

I imagine that this question is directed primarily towards Auto, and secondarily towards BC, as in descending order these are pretty much the only two people I subscribe to (excepting a Gaurdian (sp error ironically deliberate) cookery writer, an old Uni friend who has not logged in to Twitter for approximately a year).

I thought initially this was an age thing, and that I had to accept that like thinking the VU are infinitely more inventive than the Kings of Leon, this inability to comprehend the tweeting phenomenum was simply a product of my decreptitiude. Yet even my tweenie to teenie crop of fruit-of-the-loin do not have accounts (well, the eldest did register but has not issued a single chirp since registering).......

In my experience, the only chap to twitter on endlessly was the unfortunate Msr Piquet Jr (who, since his dismissal from the team I have deleted from my list) - is this the realm of the wannabe celeb????

If any more informed than me can explain how to configure twitter such that it adds value to my life and not just their value as a but-out target, I should be most enormously grateful......

The Dean

You are quite right, sir................

When the man who came to my house to put up the big TV screen feels the need to tell us what he's doing, minute-by-minute, day-by-day, then the whole sorry business has gone beyond parody................

http://twitter.com/twingos

Purdey

The only point of it that I can see is to follow some companies like, for example, BA has a feed which offers flight and holiday 'deals' out of the UK. There are also some ski feeds which also offer deals and snow + kit reports etc. Some of the on-line retailers let you know of discounts.
Other than that....?

Autonomy

Put simply it's just a communication method - like this bored in a way. For me it's just another way to give and receive information, be it banal or informative.

I like to use the analogy that it's like a TV - on its own with little or no content on it then it's boring and just something that sits there. But if you have the full Sky HD package, a PS3 and 200 DVD box sets - then the TV is suddenly pretty cool.

So with Twitter the more you use it, the more people you follow then the more you'll get out of it.

It's nothing more than glorified group SMS in one sense. But the power of it is the speed of information flow. Most of the the tweets I find interesting are either links to interesting articles or people's opinions on events / topics (like here, the more interesting things are often links / opinions)

There can also be a sense of community if you use it regularly - tweetups and twestivals have seen me meeting and developing personal and business relations that would not have happened otherwise.

I regularly ask questions (I have about 700 followers) that are answered really quickly and personally - not just where to have lunch type questions, but ones that I need for my work etc.

It is also a good 2 way direct communication tool for businesses. Engaging your customers directly is a very good thing when done well, but simply blasting out tweet spam ads is dull and doesn't work.

I guess it's not for everyone and stats show that it is not widely adopted by the younger age groups (say under 20) - it is more of a 20 - 40 age group that have adopted it.

So - it's what you make of the medium, what content (i.e. people you follow) you view that makes it. Finally - also worth doing is if you do tend to use it a lot the web interface is not that great to use - try apps like tweetdeck that make the experience more organised.

Anyways.... and as you follow me, sorry for so many random tweets.

Blue Cat

I first joined Twitter in April and to be honest I just didn't get the concept of it and struggled to get into it. Walked away and then went back. I had hear many presentation by Alexander McNabb on the radio about the benefits of media and how Twitter is the future with regards to social networking. So off I went again determined to get my head round it. I followed a few people who I knew here (Auto, W10, Commander) checked to see who they were following and followed some of their followers. I then started following the well known celebrities who are using Twitter (@wossy @schofe @stephenfry and the fictional @mrsstephenfry). The news channels are good to follow as they tweet almost immediately which saves switching on the telly!! I found a few friends who I knew followed them and their friends, who are all Dubai based.

Like Auto says it is just a huge SMS in a way BUT I have had alot of business enquiries via it and have attended a few tweetups. I have met some wonderful people from all different backgrounds and all in all I have found the total Twitter experience a very rewarding one.

Download Tweetdeck, it makes life so much easier. Once you understand what is going on and get a few decent followers you will enjoy it. I often do a search on the word Dubai and see who tweets who I find interesting, I then follow them.

At the end of the day it's what you make it. If you put the effort in initially you will enjoy it. It's not for everyone but personally I love it.

Meow

I use it for business purposes. I only post finance related info, my columns & articles and other related comments that have relevance to business. Other suse it to chat about their lives, so you can choose to follow only those who you feel are passing on relevant to you.

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Blue Cat

totally agree, I use my account for both as it works for me. Alot of tweeters have separate accounts for themselves and their companies though. I follow alot of the Malls as they tweet promotions and new restaurant openings that otherwise I wouldn't get to hear off. It is pretty interesting. There is the usual amount of dross as well but the good thing about that is you can just unfollow at the click of the button. I have had more response about the book sale via twitter than I have had here. There is a Twit Book Club running as well (@tbookclub), where Jashanmal are offering discounts to Twitter members only.

The Dean

So, Autonomy, Blue Cat and Meow............

.... wil YOU be following the nice man who put up my TV screen?

(Link in earlier post - go on, have a look, it's so bizarre, it's hilarious).

Madam Medusa

what's the twitter equivalent of bah humbug...

MM, xx

Autonomy

or no... but a very amusing person to follow is:-

http://twitter.com/Shitmydadsays

Name Justin
Bio I'm 29. I live with my 74-year-old dad. He is awesome. I just write down shit that he says


Example tweet:

"Can we talk later? The news is on... Well, if you have tuberculosis it's not gonna get any worse in the next 30 minutes, jesus."

Blue Cat

following him now but I have seen some of his tweets before, over a million followers, another good one is @swearynews

Blue Cat

checked him out, he is just boring

The Dean

Of course he's boring - that's my point, and precisely why I agree with SYB......

Waste of time.

Meow

Of course it's a waste of time if you read drivel like that! The point is that YOU chose what you want to read.

IMO much of what is on twitter is worse than FB updates, but I choose not to follow those people. I see all sorts of useful financial info & news reports, as well as info about what is happening in the UAE. The drivel is ignored ( as is not followed) as I really don't care if some JJ got caught in a traffic jam on the way to the hairdressers.

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Blue Cat

exactly follow someone then if they are boring just unfollow, quite simple. I am a huge Benidorm fan and follow the writer of the series and some of the cast as well, interesting chat about the NTA Awards and when the new series is starting etc. Today all day there has been auction to raise money for Haiti. You either like it or loath it.