social_web

Which Class Of Twitter Users Are You In?

Twitter.com LogoChris Brogan has published an interesting article where he reviews his use of Twitter and comes up with a few different classifications of Twitter users.

Out of the different classes of Twitter users that Chris presents, I have determined that I am within the Announcers vs. Conversationalists class.

Announcers vs. Conversationalists

This is a current hammer-target for Eric Rice. He’s railed out about people (including me) using Twitter as a promotion engine. I understand this, insofar as some people do nothing but twitter links to their blog posts, their flickr pictures, and whatever else turns them on. (Note: I will Twitter that I posted this article when I’m done writing it).

But conversationalists know to use a mix. They talk with other Twitter users, using the @ function to make sure people see the threaded conversation. They engage with the flow of people twittering around them, building a social sculpture, and engaging in what Jeff Pulver calls amorphic communications. Conversationalists reach into Twitter and move people back and forth.

In the beginning, Twitter was a social networking tool that I believed I could use as a promotional stepping stone for my blog. I added all sorts of people to my friends list because I knew, most people would end up following me simply because I chose to follow them. After using Twitter for a few months now, I have changed my way of thinking. I still use Twitter as a tool to share postings on my blog that I think are good conversation starters, but I also participate in conversations with those I follow. I’m also beginning to follow only those people that I actually have an interest in.

I’m currently being followed by 54 people while I’m actually following 84 people. I wonder just how many of those that are following me actually give a damn as to what I post on Twitter. I am also starting to wonder if I should delete everyone that I am following and start over from scratch. Now that I have a sense as to the correct way of using Twitter as a social tool, I think I should either start over, or I should fine tune my friends list.

Thank you Chris Brogan for the inspirational post. It’s really made me step back and realize how and why I’m using Twitter.

If you enjoy what I write on this blog and you have an account on Twitter, consider adding me http://twitter.com/jeffr0 I need more social-media, social-web, web2.0 people to converse with. Outside of the Internet, no one has a freaking clue about Web 2.0 or any of the cool stuff going on in the Cyberworld.

Another Take On Web 2.0

As I was viewing my keyword results in FeedDemon, I happen to come across an article on TheTimes which offered their opinion as to what Web 2.0 actually is. The article is dated June 6, 2007 and goes on to describe Web 1.0 as being static web pages, with the promise of businesses revolutionizing the world using the Internet as a platform. This initial mindset helped to create what we now know as the Dot Com Bubble.

According to TheTimes, the dot com bubble exploded due to the lack of common sense that was applied to many businesses that launched onto the Web.

Startups were selling dog food on the Web without giving a moment’s thoughts to the costs involved in transporting heavy bags of dog food or selling nappies without considering the convenience of, well, convenience store. In short, Web 1.0 was big on promise and lacking when it came to the deliverables.

Fast forward to 2007 and we are now in the middle of what is commonly known as Web 2.0 This new version of the web has provided a new communal mentality with a new level of user friendliness. Using the Internet as a platform is only now, really starting to gain momentum. At this stage of the game, no idea is too stupid to try.

Near the end of the article, TheTimes sums up the general formalities of Web 2.0, all of which I truly agree with. In fact, I couldn’t have said it better myself.

Web 2.0 (or the Social Web, as I prefer to think of it) is about three things: listening to the conversations people are having about you and topics you are interested in, participating meaningfully in those conversations and sharing your thoughts, ideas and knowledge with like-minded people. To put it another way, Web 2.0 is about connecting with people around you and on the other side of the globe in a very real, personal way.

What do you think Web 2.0 really is? Let me know by leaving a comment!