The Pros and Cons of Twittering

The big surprise from yesterday’s PodCamp was the presentation by Dave Delaney. He sold me on Twitter and, believe me, I was a hard sell. I’ve been watching Twitter on the sidelines since it launched in 2006.

Why I Resisted Twitter

  1. It seemed narcissistic. Do you really need to know what I’m doing most of the time? Of course not.
  2. It sounded intrusive. If you don’t like IM (and I don’t, nor am I crazy about the telephone), why would you like a web version of IM?
  3. It’s one too many things.

What changed my mind?

  1. Dave’s enthusiasm — which wasn’t spin or a sales pitch. While I don’t know Dave, he finds Twittering worth his time and he’s clearly a very busy guy. He focused on how to do it more than why, but listening to him I figured out some good reasons to try it…..
  2. It’s not only easy to start, it’s easy to stop. If you don’t like it, it’s as simple as clicking on the “Delete my account” link.
  3. Brevity is an art form — and one I can use practice at. I relish this 140 character limit.
  4. It integrates seamlessly with blogging. It feels a bit like pull-quotes or side-bars or even blowing kisses. Needless to say, it’s not called blowing kisses at your blog. But there is an apt description: “micro-blogging.”

I haven’t totally relinquished my reservations, but Dave tipped the pro / con balance sheet way in its favor. For now I’m planning on ignoring the narcissism on Twitter. If it’s just too rampant, I can always blow my account to smithereens.

3 comments ↓

#1 Shelby Meyerhoff on 02.10.08 at 10:54 pm

That’s funny, I just started about a week ago! ProBlogger recently had a post (http://www.problogger.net/archives/2008/01/23/9-benefits-of-twitter-for-bloggers/) on Twitter for bloggers, and that was part of what sold me.

#2 Judy Wilson on 02.11.08 at 10:59 pm

great posts on podcamp, which was a stellar event IMO. Well paced, very informative, lots of fun swag and top-notch presenters. I agree with the web diva on this one. Kudos to everyone involved.

#3 Anna Belle on 02.12.08 at 6:36 pm

Shelby — That’s so cool that you’re new to Twitter too! And thanks for the link. Very helpful.

Judy — I’m so glad you came to PodCamp! I’m hoping to post more from my notes soon. So many ideas, so little time.

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