I started using Twitter about a year ago… for about a week. I wouldn’t say that I didn’t ‘get it’, but I didn’t see the point of what, on the face of it, looked like inane ramblings, random comments and the ever present compulsion for twitterers to announce what they had for breakfast. Quite frankly, I couldn’t give a monkeys what they had for breakfast and why they thought I’d be interested was beyond me – I closed my account!
I have to admit to a similar approach to Facebook prior to twitters popularity. Tried it, didn’t really give it much of a chance, I closed my account.
My turnaround on Twitter came in the unlikely form of Stephen Fry. I’ve always liked Stephen Fry for various reasons not least being his public candor concerning his bipolar disorder. So when I heard that he was a prolific twitterer I thought I’d give it another try. If someone of Mr. Fry’s intellect saw value in it, it couldn’t be all that bad, surely.
Now, I wouldn’t say I was someone prone to being starstuck but the concept of having a window on the world of someone you would never normally have direct access to, seemed something of a novelty to me. Before I knew it, I’m following a handful of celebrities. Some engaging, some not so engaging.
But once you get over that initial novelty value, one quickly realises how completely diverse twitters useage can be. And because of that diversity there are bound to be things about it that are… annoying!
In part II of this series I’ll be looking at what I feel is right and wrong with Twitter. Trust me, we do need a part II.
Paul McCoy | Conflicted Twitter addict