A few months ago I deleted most of my social networking accounts. Facebook, Twitter, Plaxo, Flickr, Tumblr, FriendFeed etc.
I get Facebook and Flickr.
Facebook you use as a souped up phone book or contact list. You don’t always keep in touch with people in your phone “book” (hah, does anyone still use a physical book to store this information?), and Facebook friends are the same. You don’t have to keep in touch, but their information is available when you need it. Since mostly everyone is on Facebook it becomes extremely useful to organize events. I think that is Facebook’s most useful function, at least ever since they took down Scrabolous.
Flickr you use to upload your photos. It’s simple. I like.
I kinda get Tumblr and Twitter, but not really.
Tumblr is blogging. I suppose I don’t understand having a blog AND a tumble log. It should all be one thing. There’s no such thing as “it’s not a proper blog post”. Anything can be a blog post. So just post it on your blog. Normal blogging software should already do what Tumblr does and it’s a shame that it doesn’t.
Twitter? Haha. I don’t get it. What’s stopping you from posting a 140 character message right on your blog? Seriously?
Yes, I know. I’m missing out on the social aspect of these things, they develop their own culture. With the reposting that happens on Tumblr to the whole network creating aspect of Twitter. I understand, but I’m not compelled enough (yet).
What bothered me with Facebook was people taking that “What are you doing right now?” thing way to seriously. “I’m 10 minutes from the ice cream store.”, “I’m 5 minutes away from the ice cream store now!!! Can’t wait!!!1”, “I’m standing in front of the ice cream store!!!”, “I’m opening the door of the ice cream store.”, “I’m inside the ice cream store.”, “What flavour should I try this time?”.
Ummm, no. So I select “Show less things from this person”, or whatever that option was. But then there’d be someone else who does the same thing. Sure, I could just stop using Facebook, or not use it as much. But I’m flawed like that. If it’s there, I’ll probably use it. I have difficulty letting go of things, and once I’ve let go it takes me a while to get back.
So eventually, I decided to delete my accounts. I probably shouldn’t have deleted Flickr, but I was on a roll. If it’s really important that I know what you’re doing or what you’re up to, I’ll ask/email you or you’ll email me and just tell me.
It’s not as if I’ll stay away forever. I’ll probably be back on some of these services. Maybe Twitter. I might give Twitter a chance and try and figure it out.
Twitter? Really, Adnan? It just sounds teenybopper-ish. I can’t get myself to even go to the website, let alone sign up. Facebook and the ancient Blogger are enough for this technologically backwards being.
teenybopper-ish? hey man, Shaq uses twitter, and so does britney spears! they ain’t no teenagers (no more).
well, i think i will re-post my one-liners on twitter. and post new ones as well. and we’ll see how that feels and move on from there.
i might even use it to communicate with people.
you disgust me.
Actually, Twitter is most popular amongst people in their 30s and 40s. Facebook happens have more of the late teen, early 20s demographic.
Anyway, pls tell me that you signed up for Twitter because someone named Adnan started following me a few days ago and assuming that it was *you*, I sent him a tweet and it feels creepy to think that it might not be you. Just saying.
P.S. John Mayer, Eddie Ezzard, Keith Olbermann, George Stephanopoulos, and both of my senators use Twitter, too.
@faiqa, it was me. (thisduck)
well, i think i will re-post my one-liners on twitter. and post new ones as well.
wait, so you’re going to start using twitter to post your Lines there? but then how it that different from the example you used of someone having a weblog and using a separate site (ie. tumblr) to post random estuff there?
oh, PS:
Flickr you use to upload your photos. It’s simple. I like.
i like, too – and not only for uploading photos, but, in my case, for the community that’s been created out of that simple process of uploading. i wouldn’t use or hang out on flickr (at least, not as much) if it weren’t for the community – the stories, the inside jokes, the deadpan humo(u)r and sarcasm and sharing of experiences. and you know this, too, Adnan, since you’ve been a part of it on flickr, here and there. rarely do the comments have anything to do with the photo. as hashim once said,
my photography almost instantly gets overshadowed by the banter, which usually ends up being about…
a) food
b) stabbing
c) chai
d) stabbing Hashim when he mentions having any type of food with chai
=)
re twitter, i’m trying to figure out the medium. what is most unique about twitter apart from the 140 character limit is how it interacts with mobile devices (both for posting and reading).
but tumblr is a blog, there is no mobile element to it, or really any other unique element to it. so really there’s nothing particular you can do with tumblr that you otherwise couldn’t do with your blog. i think blogging tools need to make it easier to manage different types of content.
i guess it’s about how i view it, i suppose i see blogs more as identity based rather than content based. so the content that you produce and share is indicative of who you are. and it seems odd to me to send people to multiple places to get to that content.
but whatever i would post on twitter (in terms of lines), i’d post here too. so folk don’t have to know my twitter to get to that content. otherwise twitter is an interesting communication tool, almost like open short email, or something.
I think, over time we surround ourselves with too much technology and loose our privacy and give away time which is needed from us to ourselves. So far I resisted anything beside blog – even no blackberry…and I am much happy
I think, over time we surround ourselves with too much technology and loose our privacy and give away time which is needed from us to ourselves. So far I resisted anything beside blog – even no blackberry…and I am much happy