Comments on: Are celebs killing Twitter?

By: Twitter Trackbacks for Tech Leader » Minnaar Pieters » Are celebs killing Twitter? [techleader.co.za] on Topsy.com

Sun, 30 Aug 2009 07:09:34 +0000

[…] Tech Leader » Minnaar Pieters » Are celebs killing Twitter? www.techleader.co.za/minnaarpieters/ – view page – cached Keefe M Twitter is a microblogging platform that has recently grown at an incredible pace, with more than 10 million current users. It is one of those ideas that are hard to understand for someone who has not used it before (that someone can be anyone). What recently started to happen is that celebrities are pouncing at it in droves. Think about Ashton Kutcher (who posts pictures of his wife’s bum), Oprah (like she does not have enough TV viewers) and P Diddy (who posts the most irritating, self-important tweets ever) — they are joining this service because it is another way for them to contact their fans. — From the page […]

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By: Lindiwe

Lindiwe — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 14:51:32 +0000

@Minaar -

i “Here is my idea:

i I think a better idea is to tag users in say 5 categories that they can choose. I for example might tag myself as: technology, social media, south africa, blogger, mountain biking. In this way like-minded individuals (which is the success to Twitter happiness) can quickly connect to one another through a smarter “suggested” list.

It may not quite the *smart* list you’re after, but
b We Follow
is a pretty good Twitter tagging resource: http://wefollow.com/

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By: twilighter

twilighter — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 03:11:50 +0000

twitter rules i love it i love it lol

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By: Michael Vella

Michael Vella — Wed, 20 May 2009 07:57:12 +0000

Oprah has the attention span of of a two year old. Every day she seems to discover “her new best thing.” Twitter is a tool for getting a message out there quick. It could be a mundane as “Going to get coffee.” or a band announcing a new gig. But can also be used to promote products, as long as you remember tat there is a fine line between promoting a product or service and spamming.

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By: Shrootie

Shrootie — Fri, 08 May 2009 10:37:13 +0000

By the same token, I bet those original arpanet users are also grumbling right about now. Twitter is a tool. These shrewd marketers are simply taking advantage of it.

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By: Minnaar Pieters

Minnaar Pieters — Fri, 08 May 2009 07:30:52 +0000

You make a good point Faith. I do agree that Dvorak probably uses it in much the same way as any other celebrity - but there is a key difference. He became famous because of his opinions and articles regarding tech. He (and most tech columnists on twitter) are using twitter as a methods of ongoing conversation and interaction, not a one way communication stream.

P Diddy and Oprah are on the platform for entirely different reasons.

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By: Donald Townsend

Donald Townsend — Thu, 07 May 2009 18:15:06 +0000

I agree that Twitter is a perfect medium to contact like-minded individuals and encourage interaction but in a way it also works as a micro blogging service and in this respect it is great to just follow some peope without interaction, just to follow the trace of bread crumbs they leave.

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By: Kilroy

Kilroy — Thu, 07 May 2009 16:41:16 +0000

The problem with Twitter is it allows you to quickly post your thoughts, with less time given to actually formulating something that’s other than mundane. Add celebrity egocentric self-delusion that people actually CARE about the trvia going through their minds that very second, and you’ve got the death of “cool”.

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By: Faith

Faith — Thu, 07 May 2009 16:13:04 +0000

I don’t post outgoing twitters, but I love following other people. I follow those I care about (Dvorak and other tech type people). So I guess I do use it as a celeb follower type thing… just the celebs I choose aren’t as popular as Oprah. Should I not be allowed on twitter, because I don’t post things?

Doesn’t Dvorak use it as a way to keep in touch with his fan base? How is that different?

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By: Brian Hogg

Brian Hogg — Thu, 07 May 2009 14:06:14 +0000

I don’t think having the celebs on their ‘ruins’ twitter at all, it’s just another way for the platform to be used.

Don’t want to hear it? Don’t follow, just like anyone else whose tweets you don’t find interesting or who don’t interact in the way you’d like…

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