NNSquad - Network Neutrality Squad
[ NNSquad ] Twitter This -- Or Not
Twitter This -- Or Not
http://lauren.vortex.com/archive/000527.html
Greetings. I'm not one to jump quickly into the latest Internet fad,
but some time ago, I created several Twitter accounts for
experimentation. I have no interest in following what other people do
minute by minute in their personal lives, and I feel confident that as
far as my personal activities are concerned the feeling is mutual
among the readership.
But while I've continued to give Facebook and MySpace a wide berth --
they're just not my style -- Twitter seems to be developing into a
medium with potential value in the Internet ecosystem poised somewhere
between e-mail messages and blog entries, especially since the very
short nature of individual Twitter notes (much like cell phone SMS
text messages) encourages brevity.
I had been musing to myself that Twitter could be useful to broadcast
quickie thoughts of possible use on topics of the day, pointers to
especially interesting and/or amusing Web resources, and similar
items -- with the specific exclusion of routine aspects of my corporeal
existence.
Still, I haven't had Twitter on my hot "to do" list, and I didn't
mention my creation of Twitter accounts to anyone.
So I was a bit surprised recently to see some Twitter "followers"
popping up on one of the accounts, and in particular associated with
an account that does not (for whatever reason) seem to be listed when
someone does a Twitter search on my name. At least some of the
followers that appeared are people I know, or know of, that look
entirely legit. Others I'm not so sure about.
Since I never added any identifying information to the accounts, and
since my name is certainly not unique, it appears that these folks
linked in through a process of exclusion, assuming that they'd quickly
figure out if it was "really me" if I ever started using the account.
Given their efforts, and my obtaining a few days ago of an efficient
little Twitter client for the G1 phone, I've decided to throw caution
to the winds (a true risk taker, no?) and start officially displaying
my Twitter address. And here it is in all of its creative glory:
LW1
Ta dah. [Insert cricket sounds here ... ]
Seriously, free free to latch onto "LW1" via Twitter if you wish,
though I can't make any promises at this point as to exactly how I'll
use it, how often I'll use it, or if the texts I send via Twitter will
be worth the energy dissipated in the transmission process. It will
be an experiment and learning process for me, and likely to take some
time (as was the case with my blog) to home in on the most useful
modus operandi.
One promise I will make though is that you will not be faced with
reading the everyday minutia of my life. I may note articles,
interviews, blog entries, or other similar items of possible interest
(including ones in which I'm involved), and noteworthy events or
hopefully non-mundane insights might make the grade. If there are
enough "followers" (somehow I find that term rather creepy) I may pose
questions to the throng from time to time.
I'll just play it by ear -- we only really need to be close enough for
jazz in this case anyway.
We shall see.
--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein
lauren@vortex.com
Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800
http://www.pfir.org/lauren
Co-Founder, PFIR
- People For Internet Responsibility - http://www.pfir.org
Co-Founder, NNSquad
- Network Neutrality Squad - http://www.nnsquad.org
Founder, GCTIP - Global Coalition
for Transparent Internet Performance - http://www.gctip.org
Founder, PRIVACY Forum - http://www.vortex.com
Member, ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com
Twitter: LW1