It's no secret that I have become quite addicted to Twitter. I know not everyone reading confoozled.com knows or understands what Twitter is, so I'll try to explain. The original concept was that, as often as you wanted, you would answer the simple question, "What are you doing?" in 140 characters or less. You can also "follow" friends, or complete strangers, if you prefer, to see what they are doing as well. Now, not everyone literally updates Twitter with exactly what they are doing every minute of the day. Some use it to share things they find on the web, some use it to tell jokes or just share those profound thoughts that pop into their heads at random. I started using it basically so I could create a group of people to make small talk with during the work day, as I don't really have that in the office. It's turned into so much more than that - I have even made real life friends with people I originally met on Twitter.
I hear there are people who are much more addicted than I am. People who waste hours and hours every day reading Twitter updates. I make a point of keeping my list of "followees" down to a manageable level where it only takes a few seconds to read the updates that have come in between my work tasks, or between watching shows on my TiVo at night. Which means that unlike many people, I don't automatically follow back everyone who follows me. Some people say it's the only polite thing to do; I say that's ridiculous.
Getting to the point of this post, it recently came to my attention that this imbecile thinks that "twittering is for twits with nothing better to do." Of course, I've heard similar things before from people who haven't used Twitter and couldn't possibly know what they are talking about. Even I was of a similar opinion before I tried it myself. But I didn't toss insults at those who were using and enjoying it - to each his own, right? Who am I to denounce something I've never tried? Apparently Mr. Gordon thinks he's qualified to do so.
Mr. Gordon repeatedly points out that while there are six million people using Twitter, they must all be self-absorbed morons to think that anyone else cares what they are doing or what they have to say, and he isn't about to join them. The obvious thing you fail to see, Mr. Gordon, is that those are six million people who do care what others are up to. You don't? Then who is really the self-absorbed one? Do you have any friends or loved ones living in a different geographical location from you ? (Do you have any at all?) Have you never once thought to yourself, "Hmm, I wonder what so-and-so is doing right now?" I do, and I have, and I know that there are people for whom I am that person as well. If you don't have that, I am tempted to feel sorry for you, but the reality is you probably created the situation yourself.
I know not everyone "gets" what Twitter is about. And that's fine if you don't; leave it for those of us who do get it. But to condemn something you don't understand, and insinuate that it is those who do get it who are stupid, well that's just... stupid.
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