Poll: Is there a point to Twitter?

[Antitonic]

Fellow Escapists, I could use some advice. I've been toying with the idea of joining Twitter since the March Mayhem business, but I can't quite seem to convince myself that it's worth it. Are there any outstandingly good reasons to have an account? Conversely, are there any convincingly good reasons not to have one?

As far as I can tell, it's just like sending a mass SMS only instead of "Hey, here's my new number" it's more like "I'm bored", which astounds me as to how popular it is. Although, as popular as it is, there has to be some merit to it. Is it just I can't see the forest for the trees, or am I purposely avoiding excuses?

Bonus conversation topic: If you have a Twitter account, are you happy with it? What do you use it for?

 

[Souplex]

It's for people who want constant attention.

 

[delet]

Welp, you could inform people about what you're doing at any moment of the day... It's entirely overrated though as it's often just mindlessly telling people about unimportant aspects of people's lives.

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

I will never use it myself. I see too many people spending too much time on it. People should be spending their time like me, here on the Escapist!

Who needs Twitter...

*shakes cane*

Back in my day, we had email with the slowest modem connections imaginable and we loved it!

 

[arsenicCatnip]

I love my Twitter account because not only can I talk about what's on my mind at any given moment, I can follow what's going on with my friends and with people I admire.

It's a fun service, and so easy to use. If you get an account, I'll follow you, lol.

 

[Plinglebob]

I've never really liked Tw@er. My sister used to use it before it became popular because it was often used by scientists to keep people up to date with their research, but now its just become annoying.

Back in my day, we had email with the slowest modem connections imaginable and we loved it!

You kids with your new fangled technology. All we had were land line telephones and the Royal Mail and we were fine.

 

[Audioave10]

No thank you.

 

[Bloody Sun Boy]

I use twitter but only as an app on the side of my screen, i like it for the fact i can sign up to my current mmo on twitter to get server status updates, get updates about new graphics cards from Nvidia or Ati and such, oh and to stalk Stephen Fry.

 

[Avaholic03]

There are reasons not to get it. Namely, security. If you tell everyone who is listening "going on vacation, be back next week", then you should probably just expect your house to be robbed if you have even a moderate number of followers.

People are way to lax with their personal information these days. I almost wish there would be a string of twitter/facebook-based robberies that gets media attention so people wake the hell up.

 

[HippySecond]

I have an account but rarely use it, mostly I have it to update me on game related things i.e. Bad Conmpany's twitter account details patch releases, and the changes

 

[Cab00se206]

Nup. Has no right to exist whatsoever. You can go on about everything you'd do with such a system, but at the end of the day, what people actually do is post asinine, totally self-absorbed comments about what you're doing at any given moment. I've actually seen posts that declaired that XXXXX "Is eating pie". Outstanding.

My 'Media, Culture and Everyday Life' lecturer at uni actaually has a course channel that he says can be used by people to tweet questions they had about the lecture, and he would stop and answer them halfway through, which seemed a bit charicteristically over-optimistic. You can see that on paper the system is a thoughtful, sensible one, but at the end of the day, one of the few comments that he got one night was "The girl next to me smells"

Twitter in a nutshell, right there.

Is there a point to ANY social networking site?

I think there is. While I've never ben as enthusiastic about Facebook as some people I know, there are many functions of it that are extremely useful to even a social pariah like me. The 'event' function is supremely handy for creating a forum to have a party, or even organise a charity event. The posting mechanic is as useless as Twitter's, but it's wrapped in some very useful social networking tools.

 

[GameSlave15]

im currently posting in a forum... i dont have a twitter but its basicly fb status updates on a more frequent basis. personaly i think it would get annoying after awhile. saying what your doing constantly. who needs another techno leash?

 

[zehydra]

Lol made a dummy account and I spew out nonsense to my followers.

 

[Funkysandwich]

No.

 

[j0frenzy]

There are reasons not to get it. Namely, security. If you tell everyone who is listening "going on vacation, be back next week", then you should probably just expect your house to be robbed if you have even a moderate number of followers.

People are way to lax with their personal information these days. I almost wish there would be a string of twitter/facebook-based robberies that gets media attention so people wake the hell up.

You know the flaw with that? My twitter account doesn't say what city I'm in, much less where in the city I'm in and it doesn't change the fact that I have a security system and locked doors.

Twitter has two general uses. Keeping in contact with friends, particularly those who are not in the same city as you and keeping track of people who do things online, e.g. following web comic artists to see when they are streaming themselves drawing comics. It is nifty if your friends use it as your social networking site.

 

[0bserv3]

I have one, but i just use it to follow people and stuff. Its not stalking, I swear.

 

[Sleekgiant]

I have an account and find it useful especially when this site takes a dump. Most of the people I talk to are on there and it can be great fun to use the site.

 

[Vilcus]

I made one for an extra vote during March Mayhem... I haven't been on that thing since. Hell I don't even remember the password I put on that thing.

 

[IxionIndustries]

I wouldnt do it.. I don't like people knowing my every move.

Also, I hate birds, so the correlation between birds and Twitter really makes me mad.. Let's just say at fucking 12:00, these assholes in my backyard are chirping. >.<

 

[Mistermixmaster]

I use twitter to keep up-to-date with Inside Gaming for a constant barrage of gaming news (but I am also "following" the Escapist and Yahtzee).

I have only posted ONCE on twitter, and that was during March Mayhem for the extra vote.