Last week I went along to a panel to discuss legal blogging.
The question was asked: why bother blogging? What do you get out of it?
My answer, as it usually is: the reason I blog is because I enjoy it.
But it must be said, I don’t really have the same feeling about tweeting.
Indeed, tweeting often leaves me upset and depressed, especially if I get the tone of a tweet wrong or get dragged into an unpleasant exchange. In both cases, it is usually my fault. But, all the same, I am not enjoying it.
That said, there is no reason to leave Twitter. I have done that before, and it is too useful a tool of commuincation, and there are too many interesting people using the medium, for anyone to go completely.
So, Twitter suits my interests but not really my temperament; especially as my follower figures (most of whom must be pornbots or people who joined Twitter once but never looked again) mean that any grumpy or misconceived tweets now seem to end up with a blogpost of their own.
What I expect will happen is that I will use Twitter more and more just as the means to promote links, especially to my own writing or to things which should have a wider audience, and less as a way of participating directly in Twitter discussions and debates.
Unless one pays you to tweet (and no one pays me) then one should only tweet because it is fun or you get something out of it.
I have no doubt I will get drawn into some unhappy Twitter exchanges again, but I would rather spend my spare time putting together blogposts like my recent NightJack one or perhaps getting on with a book on privacy law.
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15 Responses to Some thoughts on blogging and tweeting
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Yes, Twitter does have its limitations, but it can be fun and exciting, and a very powerful tool.
Along with other online media, I think it’s Twitter is the most democratising tool since the printing press.
I don’t think that I’m exaggerating to say that…
It gives the public an instant right of reply, it makes each individual voice equal, and it holds journalists to account for the first time ever. That’s very empowering for ordinary people. It also allows people to organise themselves in groups, and to run campaigns etc.
It’s effectively a kind of personal newspaper for every individual who has a Twitter account.
To avoid a negative experience, I think the trick with Twitter is not to get drawn into unfriendly conversations.
As soon as they become unfriendly, then it’s time to have a break, and to block if necessary. But I know that’s easier said than done.
Linking to a blog seems like a perfect use of Twitter. 140 characters are not enough to have a proper exploration of issues, and it can be frustrating not to be able to have a discussion, or to express your opinions, in more depth.
We once had a spat, but I really enjoy your tweets, blogs and opinions and respect what you say.
Take heart. Keep on doing it – you would be missed
Keep on tweeting! Your readers (well, me anyway) look upon you as a well-informed, highly articulate friend. You’d leave a gap.
I do hope this is just a passing grumpy mood – I seem to remember a previous very similar, “I’m only going to use Twitter for links from now on,” statement being quickly abandoned – because personally I find you one of the more amusing and informative Tweeters.
It’s terribly easy to inadvertently give or take offence in any written communication because of the lack of body language and tone of voice, and doubly so on Twitter because of the brevity but the intended message get through far more often than the occasional misunderstanding. I think you just have to shrug your shoulders and say sometimes people get ‘the wrong end of the stick’.
I’ve only been using twitter for 8 months and found it to be depressing, enjoyable, inspiring, damaging, kind and even a hostile place to spend hours of your life. Why do we do it ?
I’ve left Twitter on two occasions, told people I was leaving, with a view to returning after a few weeks but the plan failed. It was only a day before I dragged myself back into it’s addictive environment.
I hate the unpleasant way some conduct their business or throw their thoughts into the ‘digital ether’ hoping to catch a few comments retaliating for voicing their views.
I hate the fact that people ‘troll’ the time-lines for ‘do-gooders’ and make every effort to entangle them into a debate. You don’t get that same instant reaction from ‘blogging’.
I have never blogged before or even had the chance of being heard. I find Twitter an amazing tool to help do that and to make ones thoughts public by directing people who ‘follow’ you to your blog.
We’ve all got our own funny peculiar oddities and you’re either liked or you’re not and the only way to find out if people like what you write is to blog.
I’ve read some of your blogs recently and a most excellent one being ‘night-jack’. It’s full of intrigue and a credit to you for exposing the details and making them public.
Isn’t that what ‘blogging’ is really about, helping those who have got something on their chest that they feel needs to be shared to everyone ?
I only wish ‘blogging’ was around when I was trying to expose my story nearly 13 years ago.
Maybe, just maybe, I could have made a REAL difference back then and not just be another story of the past.
I notice people aren’t really interested in ‘buying’ domain names these days for their personal blogging use and many are using FREE sites such as ‘wordpress’ and ‘stumble’. Why not ? They’re normally free and there’s no maintenance. They’re also very easy to set up, use and start blogging with.
I started blogging recently and had ‘some’ interest in what I’ve had to say but it’s extremely difficult to get anyone to comment on what you’ve said and then when they do, it can be pretty rude and not worthy of publishing….perhaps because I attract malicious comments in what I say…who knows….if people don’t like what you say, why stop ? Do it for yourself and not for others.
Happy to keep blogging….happy to keep tweeting…..and happy to keep in touch with the world.
By the way, David A Green, I’m still waiting for Part 2 of Hackgate…the unfinished blog. ;>)
Oh noes. I joined Twitter just to keep up with the last Irish election. At first it was like arriving at a party where you know no one, clutching a drink and smiling brightly, but within a week or two flicking between the election and following activists literally running for their lives in real time in and around Tahrir Square got me hooked. Twitter is an exciting, stimulating, democratic, creative new medium but it is also addictive and an enormous timesink. Absolutely there comes a point when it is time to step out of the room. I can’t remember why I started following @jackofkent but it was pretty early on. I noticed you often zig when Twitter zags, e.g. over the Ryan Giggs Superinjunction and the early days of Johann Hari’s scandal. You’ll be much missed for your ready wit, unerring sense of decency and astute worldview. x Fiona, Chief Pornbot
But without Twitter, how will you know #WWPBLAGS?
I think what you have written makes perfect sense. Twitter does not tolerate nuance and context; therefore, one has to be careful to maintain a professional facade at all times.
You may want to rethink your policy of not (or rarely) replying to blog comments though, because this is where you will get the reasoned, sensible discussion which is very difficult on Twitter. You should also point your followers to venues where you are more likely to engage with them if they have interesting points to make, such as your Facebook page, and make it clear that you spend little time on Twitter, and are therefore unlikely to reply to mentions.
I hope you carry on tweeting, but understand your stance entirely. Any online discussion is prone to grievances that other media can avoid; Twitter’s character limit seems to exacerbate the problem, placing brevity before subtlety.
The way discussions appear on a third party’s timeline can be misleading as well, which doesn’t help.
I still like Twitter, mind.
Having only just recently made the transition from Tweeter to Blogger to Columnist, I’ve had to grow a thick skin pretty quickly. My column goes in print and online, which is open to comments and leads to “discussion”. I am not a trained journalist – so have not been taught anything that may have helped me datech myself and it’s been a rocky time. I do however have one ace up my sleeve, the time spent to date on Twitter – it has taught me not to react to short, sharp, even idiotic responses, so Twitter does have its uses!
Dear Mr Green … or less formally David …. We the twitter reading fraternity, would sorely miss you. Oh god what a creep … no I am serious there are far too many serious tweeters who take themselves far too seriously , your light heartedness as well as your seriousness are important to us . We need really informative people to keep us alert as to what the horrible big bad world is doing. Twitter for some is just number counting ( oh look how many followers i’ve got ) , for others it is simply an advertising tool ( who on earth buys from twitter), some of course like to argue and annoy , and to others it is simply company, yes that simple company! As you so rightly say twitter should not be a blood pressure raising excersize , and when that happens it is time to find the block/ban/ignore buttons, even too the off button. But David you are a fun tweeterer as well as a serious blogger and some of us may never know what is happening in the world without you, until it is too late! So please stay . CDS
Twitter is quite unlike any other social tool, in that each user has to decide exactly what they want to use it for and how. Contrast with (say) Facebook, where the platform more or less imposes a structure which steers you down paths that have been decided for you.
I recommend people to make two independent decisions about use. The first is how you are going to use it to receive information … and that’s down to judicious choice of who you follow. The second is what you are going to share with it .. if anything. Although these are related … to the extent that interaction helps build a following and suggests who to follow.
For myself the people I follow provide me with an unrivalled, pre-digested, cuttings service for the topics I’m interested in. Never a day passes without me seeing things I would never have otherwise found.
I also try to be a good source of information in return … and I select what I tweet in ways that build a brand, so that others can easily tell whether they want to follow me or not. Again, I use it daily to supply information to people, related (mostly) to my professional work.
The thing I don’t like is the things you’ve described David. It is very easy to be misunderstood in 140 chs, so that means a lot of thought has to go into the alternative interpretations and possible ramifications of every tweet. The platform is also very poor for interaction … as any exchange of more than a couple of tweets rapidly becomes impossible to follow, especially if more than one person gets involved. As far as possible I therefore try to avoid those interactions. I also deal quickly and decisively with people who are rude and abusive.
My usage goes up and down with time. Sometimes there is a lot to exchange and I start to feel embarrassed by the sheer number of tweets I’ve made that day. Other times I hardly tweet at all, as there is nothing worse than tweeting for tweeting’s sake. However, that flexibility is a good thing … nobody is going to notice if you go quiet for a short while.
All in all, I regard Twitter as a useful tool … but a tool that you really have to decide how to use. There is no one way. There is just the way that works for you.
Twitter has it’s place it’s true, but I have any blogs I follow in the RSS feed reader in my browser, twitter moves so fast that just a few hours away means you can miss links tweeted. whereas the RSS feeds come in and stay there until I get time to read them.
RSS might be old tech, but it does the job for me.
You sure know how to strike a pose (HLE) – your attitude shows in your writing too, no matter if it’s Jack of Kent or any kind of tweet. What’s bad with written speech is that we perceive it any way we wish, and we “hear” it depending on our mood; one will get a completely different context out of the same sentence when they are happy, excited or moody (or any other possible state of mind).
I find twitter a very good flow of information, it’s a tool: use it accordingly (and keep that pose for it’s quite flattering).
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