Newscoma suggested offline that I look into Twitter. Jack Lail had also suggested this a while back.
I still haven't quite figured out what it's all about. My cellphone can send and receive text messages and I think it can even browse the web, but it makes my head hurt. Besides, I usually leave my cellphone off.
Anyway, I think I have correctly setup a Twitter for KnoxViews blog updates by way of TwitterFeed. So if you want KnoxViews headlines on your cellphone or other SMS type device, here's the link to get you started.
Conversely, I have setup a separate Twitter to receive "Tweets" (?) from local "Twitterers" (?) ("Tweeters" ?), which I have included in the column there to the right under "Knox Twitter". If I missed yours and you'd like to be added to the Knox Twitter section, please let me know.
Also, if you want Knoxville News Sentinel headlines via Twitter, here you go. I didn't include those in the Knox Twitters, because they are already on the News-o-Rama RSS newsfeeds.
I hope everybody (except me) is clear on all that.
None of the other social networking things have really been all that appealing to me. I'm over 18 and I'm not in a band, so MySpace seems completely irrelevant. I'm not looking for a job, so LinkedIn doesn't seem pertinent either. Facebook doesn't appeal to me on any level.
Twitter is the one social networking tool that I've decided is nearly indispensable. Although the mobile phone functionality is optional, that's what makes it most compelling for me. Some people use it as a micro-blogging tool, some use it for its original purpose ("What are you doing?"), some use it as a way of publishing RSS feeds, and some use it as a platform for performance art.
It's whatever you want it to be, in 140 characters or less.
Submitted by Lisa Starbuck on Sun, 2007/12/02 - 7:27pm.
I use it as a micro-blog - and it's interesting to keep up with what others are doing right at the moment - both people I know in the real world and online only.
Submitted by djuggler on Sun, 2007/12/02 - 8:43pm.
I summarize Twitter as 3 things:
I think Twitterers will fall into one or more of three types:
1. Exhibitionists, Voyeurs, Gossips - These are the folks that will send/read a stream of messages about the minutia of daily life
2. News feeds - These are the folks alerting the world about their experiences with the California fires, or the next big event. These are the newspapers getting the headlines out. These are people like myself alerting others that the Interstate is at a stand still.
3. Topic Specific - These would be people sharing information about a particular subject. Unlike news feeds these will often include back and forth discussions about the topic.
I originally had this one listed as "Techies" because that is what I do: Techies - These are the people sharing links to events in the technical world. Unlike a news feed, these will often include back and forth discussions on the ins and outs of technical issues.
Submitted by djuggler on Mon, 2007/12/03 - 12:16am.
Imagine Twitter like this: You are in the Knoxville Convention Center and everyone on the Internet has gathered in the Convention Center for a big party. People are chatting up about anything that comes to mind. Some people have political agendas, some people are having popularity contests and trying to meet as many celebrities as possible, some people are rubbing elbows with the experts in their field, some people are just describing their mundane days, and some people are just eavesdropping on other people's conversations. That's Twitter.
In the 70s we had CB radio; in 2007 we have Twitter.
Where's the value? Imagine the New Madrid fault slips and buildings all over Knoxville collapse. Most cell phone towers stay operational. @RedCross sends a message explaining the situation and explains:
Send ‘D safeandwell FIRSTNAME LASTNAME #### STREET CITY STATE ZIP CELLPHONE’ and a brief note about how you are. We’ll enter you in.
You do so and now friend's and relatives can check Link... to find out you are okay.
Joe Biden took questions over Twitter during a live chat with the Washington Post.
News gets out faster over Twitter than the media outlets because the people experiencing the news send it out with their phones.
I'll just point out that in the aftermath of Katrina cell coverage was spotty at best and only got worse as emergency generators and battery power on cell towers failed.
Also, on 9/11 cell coverage went out for pretty much the entire city, land lines were pretty iffy, but email was up and working (redundant-path packet technology rules!). Of course, in this case, so would Twitter be.
Every disaster is different. Just don't decide that all you need is an iPhone and give up your land line and Internet connection.
Submitted by djuggler on Mon, 2007/12/03 - 9:11am.
Most cell phone towers stay operational.
That was a hypothetical for the scenario. Like the recent earthquake in San Francisco. Twitter was a buzz hours before the first reports from main stream media came in. Granted, no one got hurt. It was not that serious. Like you said, each situation will be different.
In the case of Link..., that could be used by people outside the affected region to find victims. For instance, if you were a Katrina victim shipped to Houston you could Twitter to @RedCross to add you to DisasterSafe and your family would have an easier time finding you. Doesn't matter that the towers in NO were out.
Submitted by newscoma on Mon, 2007/12/03 - 8:12am.
Here's how Twitter has worked in a good way for me in offering information that I might not have known about in an immediate fashion. I found out about Lynnster (out of Memphis) car wreck, have arranged meeting other bloggers for meetings, occasionally have found breaking news stories and the like on Twitter.
There was some talk back during the shootings on VT's campus that if students had something like this immediate social networking platform, that the word would have gotten out faster.
R., one thing you can do is put a link on your post over there when you think you'd like people to see something you thing should be seen by other folks, alerting them you have a new post up. Jack does this for his personal blog and for the newspaper. A tiny url will appear (ask Doug for more details on how that works, I'm clueless girl here.)
Since you joined up, about three people who are active on this very site have added me and I them.
It's a great way to network and "get the word out." Don't get me wrong, you will also find out that, as Lisa said, that people use it as a micro-blog of day-to-day happenings. I have learned that Russ McBee loves Italian Market, Doug twitters when he drives (heh) and I even lived-twittered making the world's worst pot of chili. There is whimsy with it as well as it being an effective social tool.
Good luck, and thanks for all you do.
Newscoma
The chili thing was hilarious, 'Coma. I was afraid you'd burn your house down.
Doug live-Twittered the Bearden/Farragut football game recently (his coverage was awesome); he also Twittered the process of installing Christmas lights on his house. His rooftop tweets were a bit scary.
Emergency responders in (I think) Los Angeles County use Twitter as a means of getting around incompatible radio networks during emergency calls.
I'm using the TwitterFeed service, which posts a headline and a tiny url link to the article from the blog RSS feeds. So I think that's being taken care of automagicallly. It doesn't send the whole article or links within the article. I may post some "tweets" outside the blog if there's breaking news or something.
I will probably never use twitter. It's not that I'm scared of the technology, or even that it might be banal (hell, half of the blogs I read and email I receive are banal).
But I'm someone who only uses my cell phone to make outgoing calls. I find the idea of twitter exhausting. I just don't WANT to be connected to the entire world every minute, every second.
"The difficulty lies not so much in developing new ideas as in escaping from old ones." - John Maynard Keynes
This is a cool thing, Randy. Trust us. ;-)
None of the other social networking things have really been all that appealing to me. I'm over 18 and I'm not in a band, so MySpace seems completely irrelevant. I'm not looking for a job, so LinkedIn doesn't seem pertinent either. Facebook doesn't appeal to me on any level.
Twitter is the one social networking tool that I've decided is nearly indispensable. Although the mobile phone functionality is optional, that's what makes it most compelling for me. Some people use it as a micro-blogging tool, some use it for its original purpose ("What are you doing?"), some use it as a way of publishing RSS feeds, and some use it as a platform for performance art.
It's whatever you want it to be, in 140 characters or less.
~Russ
I use it as a micro-blog - and it's interesting to keep up with what others are doing right at the moment - both people I know in the real world and online only.
I summarize Twitter as 3 things:
See if my post on suggesting everyone follow @RedCross helps.
You can also use it to get closer to the presidential candidates although its really come down to Biden, Thompson, and Obama as the only ones sticking with it.
Doug McCaughan
Link...
I glanced around at the website and still haven't figured out what it is.
Brian A.
I'd rather be cycling.
Imagine Twitter like this: You are in the Knoxville Convention Center and everyone on the Internet has gathered in the Convention Center for a big party. People are chatting up about anything that comes to mind. Some people have political agendas, some people are having popularity contests and trying to meet as many celebrities as possible, some people are rubbing elbows with the experts in their field, some people are just describing their mundane days, and some people are just eavesdropping on other people's conversations. That's Twitter.
In the 70s we had CB radio; in 2007 we have Twitter.
Where's the value? Imagine the New Madrid fault slips and buildings all over Knoxville collapse. Most cell phone towers stay operational. @RedCross sends a message explaining the situation and explains:
You do so and now friend's and relatives can check Link... to find out you are okay.
Joe Biden took questions over Twitter during a live chat with the Washington Post.
News gets out faster over Twitter than the media outlets because the people experiencing the news send it out with their phones.
Doug McCaughan
Link...
I'll just point out that in the aftermath of Katrina cell coverage was spotty at best and only got worse as emergency generators and battery power on cell towers failed.
Also, on 9/11 cell coverage went out for pretty much the entire city, land lines were pretty iffy, but email was up and working (redundant-path packet technology rules!). Of course, in this case, so would Twitter be.
Every disaster is different. Just don't decide that all you need is an iPhone and give up your land line and Internet connection.
That was a hypothetical for the scenario. Like the recent earthquake in San Francisco. Twitter was a buzz hours before the first reports from main stream media came in. Granted, no one got hurt. It was not that serious. Like you said, each situation will be different.
In the case of Link..., that could be used by people outside the affected region to find victims. For instance, if you were a Katrina victim shipped to Houston you could Twitter to @RedCross to add you to DisasterSafe and your family would have an easier time finding you. Doesn't matter that the towers in NO were out.
Doug McCaughan
Link...
Here's how Twitter has worked in a good way for me in offering information that I might not have known about in an immediate fashion. I found out about Lynnster (out of Memphis) car wreck, have arranged meeting other bloggers for meetings, occasionally have found breaking news stories and the like on Twitter.
There was some talk back during the shootings on VT's campus that if students had something like this immediate social networking platform, that the word would have gotten out faster.
R., one thing you can do is put a link on your post over there when you think you'd like people to see something you thing should be seen by other folks, alerting them you have a new post up. Jack does this for his personal blog and for the newspaper. A tiny url will appear (ask Doug for more details on how that works, I'm clueless girl here.)
Since you joined up, about three people who are active on this very site have added me and I them.
It's a great way to network and "get the word out." Don't get me wrong, you will also find out that, as Lisa said, that people use it as a micro-blog of day-to-day happenings. I have learned that Russ McBee loves Italian Market, Doug twitters when he drives (heh) and I even lived-twittered making the world's worst pot of chili. There is whimsy with it as well as it being an effective social tool.
Good luck, and thanks for all you do.
Newscoma
Link...
I do tend to Twitter about food a lot, huh?
The chili thing was hilarious, 'Coma. I was afraid you'd burn your house down.
Doug live-Twittered the Bearden/Farragut football game recently (his coverage was awesome); he also Twittered the process of installing Christmas lights on his house. His rooftop tweets were a bit scary.
Emergency responders in (I think) Los Angeles County use Twitter as a means of getting around incompatible radio networks during emergency calls.
It's fascinating.
~Russ
I'm using the TwitterFeed service, which posts a headline and a tiny url link to the article from the blog RSS feeds. So I think that's being taken care of automagicallly. It doesn't send the whole article or links within the article. I may post some "tweets" outside the blog if there's breaking news or something.
I know why R Neal doesn't get Twitter!
Doug McCaughan
Link...
I will probably never use twitter. It's not that I'm scared of the technology, or even that it might be banal (hell, half of the blogs I read and email I receive are banal).
But I'm someone who only uses my cell phone to make outgoing calls. I find the idea of twitter exhausting. I just don't WANT to be connected to the entire world every minute, every second.
"The difficulty lies not so much in developing new ideas as in escaping from old ones." - John Maynard Keynes
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