Original Post: 11/23/07
I am truly loving the power of twitter.....the ability to post a question to my "twitterdom" and usually get help within moments is truly unbelievable. The power of the network, the willingness of those that know, the quickness in response, and the ease of sharing resources (at times) can be quite a rush!
But have I made the mistake of confusing "help desk" with friendship? That is where my thoughts are dwelling today.
I am finding twitter to be a very confusing place -- as well as powerful. It might be hard to believe, but emotions can run high at twitter. It is hard to explain how 140 characters of text can make you truly laugh out loud, can make you scowl with disagreement, can make you clap with glee, and can bring tears to your eyes. And I wonder, if this is for real??
I am finding twitter to be a very frustrating place -- perhaps because I am a touchy/feely kind of person. When someone shares some good news -- I want to truly reach out and hug them. I want them to see the sparkle of pride in my eyes, to see the big huge grin that appears, & to feel my pat on their back. When someone shares a sadness -- I want to hold their hand, to pray with them, to offer comfort, even if it is just to sit near them and be silent. When something is funny -- I want to share a LAUGH OUT LOUD -- and when someone helps me -- I want to be able to say THANKS SO VERY MUCH instead of just typing it.
But this is not an option.....and I am frustrated!
Perhaps it is just me -- but I feel that I have created "friends" in the twitter environment -- but can that be true? Can you know someone from 140 characters of text? Can you truly read between the lines of a private direct messge? Can you get to know someone who is perhaps carefully choosing each word? And let us not forget the confusion of who the person might really be responding to - because sometimes twitter comments can really be misconstrued and totally taken out of context.
I guess what I am dealing with today is if twitter is really worth it? Or have I distorted it into something which it is not to be? It is perplexing to me that the power of "Typed Communication" can be so overwhelming, so confusing, so delightful, so enlightening, so frustrating, and so necessary right now in my life.
If nothing else, twitter is making me YEARN for F2F conversation and since the nearest conference for me is still 6 weeks away -- the next few weeks could be very frustrating.
What do you think? Is twitter confusing for you? Or am I just again proving that I march to an entirely different drummer than most?
I appreciate your thoughts.
Jen
I am truly loving the power of twitter.....the ability to post a question to my "twitterdom" and usually get help within moments is truly unbelievable. The power of the network, the willingness of those that know, the quickness in response, and the ease of sharing resources (at times) can be quite a rush!
But have I made the mistake of confusing "help desk" with friendship? That is where my thoughts are dwelling today.
I am finding twitter to be a very confusing place -- as well as powerful. It might be hard to believe, but emotions can run high at twitter. It is hard to explain how 140 characters of text can make you truly laugh out loud, can make you scowl with disagreement, can make you clap with glee, and can bring tears to your eyes. And I wonder, if this is for real??
I am finding twitter to be a very frustrating place -- perhaps because I am a touchy/feely kind of person. When someone shares some good news -- I want to truly reach out and hug them. I want them to see the sparkle of pride in my eyes, to see the big huge grin that appears, & to feel my pat on their back. When someone shares a sadness -- I want to hold their hand, to pray with them, to offer comfort, even if it is just to sit near them and be silent. When something is funny -- I want to share a LAUGH OUT LOUD -- and when someone helps me -- I want to be able to say THANKS SO VERY MUCH instead of just typing it.
But this is not an option.....and I am frustrated!
Perhaps it is just me -- but I feel that I have created "friends" in the twitter environment -- but can that be true? Can you know someone from 140 characters of text? Can you truly read between the lines of a private direct messge? Can you get to know someone who is perhaps carefully choosing each word? And let us not forget the confusion of who the person might really be responding to - because sometimes twitter comments can really be misconstrued and totally taken out of context.
I guess what I am dealing with today is if twitter is really worth it? Or have I distorted it into something which it is not to be? It is perplexing to me that the power of "Typed Communication" can be so overwhelming, so confusing, so delightful, so enlightening, so frustrating, and so necessary right now in my life.
If nothing else, twitter is making me YEARN for F2F conversation and since the nearest conference for me is still 6 weeks away -- the next few weeks could be very frustrating.
What do you think? Is twitter confusing for you? Or am I just again proving that I march to an entirely different drummer than most?
I appreciate your thoughts.
Jen