Twitter is a Flexible Medium

February 10, 2010 3 Comments

Get a weather update.

Send a text message.

Subscribe to your favorite publication.

Ask a question and get an answer.

Distribute your press release.

Bookmark a link.

Participate in a social network.

Share pictures.

Get the latest news.

Advertise.

Connect with your favorite celebrities.

Share your thoughts.

View the latest posts from your favorite forum.

Answer questions from others.

Find a new job.

Chat with a friend.

Make business connections.

All in one place. This can all be done on Twitter. Twitter is all of this; and much more. Or it’s none of this. What makes this possible is the most honest, undeniable truth about the service: you follow who or what you want.

If you think automated updates are bad, then don’t follow automatic updates. If you feel someone’s use of Twitter is “wrong” or annoying, don’t follow them or unfollow them.

Twitter is flexible. It’s the people who use it who aren’t always flexible. From time to time, I see someone in my stream talking about some Twitter activity they don’t like; some activity they feel shouldn’t happen. How you’re doing it wrong.

But, what I find is that the power of Twitter; the rise of Twitter is largely due to this great flexibility that allowed so many legitimate uses to take hold and find value. And people will follow what they find value in and it will be different from what you find value in.

Patrick O'Keefe

Managing online communities since 2000, I publish a collective of websites known as the iFroggy Network. I wrote the book Managing Online Forums and, as a public speaker, have presented for organizations like CNN, institutions like Australian National University and conferences like SXSW. More about me.

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