Comments on: Learning about Twitter

By: Vida

Vida — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 03:20:43 +0000

Jon, I really like what you say about Twitter –that one of its strengths is about learning about and from others. One of the dangers of social media is while it encourages and promotes connection it also encourages "tribalism"– just connecting and talking with people who think like me. I think it is very important to "listen" to what others who differ from me in their beliefs etc. are saying in our world, if we are to learn to live together. Twitter can be a great tool to promote understanding between people and cultures but only if we "listen in" at least as much as we tweet.

By: Edward Mills

Edward Mills — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 15:09:15 +0000

I don't know what you think of Rick Warren, but I heard him talk last week and he said very humbly, "I can learn something from everyone if I take the time." I think that is so true and if we have the intent to try to learn who God is through others we will grow immensly in our walks…

By: David

David — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 17:49:37 +0000

So…I’ve been hearing about this twitter thing off and on. I wasn’t really sure what it was so after doing a little reading on this blog I decided to check it out. I don’t have a phone with a data plan, so I’m glad that I can update and receive updates via text messages.

I also really like the ability to filter who’s updates I receive to my phone and block off certain times to not receive messages. I like being able to be connected, but having choice in the matter is also really important as well.

Thanks for sharing this Laura.

By: Tony Chimento

Tony Chimento — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 17:47:07 +0000

Great post and comments. My personal pet peeve is when people use twitter as email. Important information that needs to be handled is not best sent through twitter. Yes it’s a social platform. But businesses are incorporating twitter as a part of their functionality. And important details are best sent through email, not twitter. Great post.

By: Laura Burrus

Laura Burrus — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 19:19:19 +0000

I now have a Twitter account: LauraBurrus (took your advice on creating a name.)
I am following 7.
I had 3 followers. One flew away…so now I have 2.

We'll see where this goes.

By: Jon Reid

Jon Reid — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 18:05:06 +0000

I use Facebook and look forward to the new features. It sound like you’ll probably be able to read status updates of celebrities, which people like doing on Twitter. But what about ordinary folk like you or me? Since Facebook relationships are reciprocal, I can post updates there knowing exactly who my audience is, which offers a certain amount of safety (probably illusory, but commonly assumed). Whereas with Twitter’s asymmetric relationships, I could learn from what you have to say without any obligation on your part to relate to me.

Anyway Laura, I’m happy my first comment helped you! I am posting a series on how to get started on Twitter, sharing some things I’ve learned: http://jonreid.blogs.com/oneanother/2009/03/getting-started-on-twitter.html

By: Laura Burrus

Laura Burrus — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 17:33:53 +0000

Awww… I never really saw it as a way to learn something from someone. Good point! Maybe when I get a few spare minutes I will join the Twitter crowd and perhaps tweet a little (and learn something)!

Yesterday on CnnMoney.com, I read that Facebook is launching real time web capabilities, much like Twitter. I suppose they are trying to keep up with this new phase.

http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/gigaom/big-tech/2009_03_04_twitter_vs_facebook_real_time_web.html

By: Jon Reid

Jon Reid — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 16:03:39 +0000

Laura, your advice is so good, you had me fooled into thinking you used Twitter yourself! I resisted trying Twitter for some time, dismissing it as a toy or as a tiny subset of what Facebook does. But I finally decided that the only way to understand was to give it a try. Now I feel it’s opened an important new form of communication which churches must not ignore. I suppose I have become somewhat obsessed with it, as much of my blogging lately is about Twitter.

One fascinating aspect of Twitter is that it’s not necessarily about your friends and what they are doing. It is about anyone you are interested in learning from, and what they are thinking. This is because unlike Facebook in which all friendships are two-way, Twitter is composed of one-way connections. (Of course it can be two-way with two such connections.)

I encourage you to give it a try! There’s nothing like first-hand experience.