Rory Reid
Rory's earliest memory is of taking the back off his radio to see what was inside. His mum wasn't happy. Nowadays he breaks other people's stuff for a living: the latest laptops and even high-tech automobiles crumble and die at his hands.
Monday 16 February 2009, 5:19pm
Twitter sucks and so do you. Probably
Last week was Twitter week on CNET UK -- a seven-day period where we bathed ourselves and our readers in the phenomenon that is microblogging. The aim, I'm told, was to tell users everything they need to know about the service so they can become 'experts'. But experts in what, exactly? Wasting your life away? Idiotic blathering?
I'm not averse to trying new things, so I've spent the last couple of weeks using Twitter to understand it better -- and you know what? I still think it sucks, so how about I present the other side of the argument -- that Twitter is a pointless waste of time inhabited by even more useless users. Yes, I'm probably talking about you.
1. Who cares?
Twitter might be a great way of communicating with people, but what use is that when most of its content is completely redundant? Here are some genuine tweets I received over the last few minutes:
"Now know why Parcelforce is going down the pan!"
"Caramel-flavoured early start to the day"
"Wondering what to replace cheese with?!"
Honestly, it's like I've signed up to an RSS feed to the most mundane aspects of people's lives.
2. Too many stalkers
Within a couple of days of joining Twitter, I'd amassed over 100 followers. The scary part is that I only actually knew who eight of these people were. That means around 92 per cent of my followers were complete strangers, and around 50 per cent of those hadn't bothered filling out a profile to help me deduce who they might actually be. Having them follow me is the tech equivalent of having someone read a newspaper over my shoulder, only it's worse, because the words aren't written by some random stranger -- they're coming from my own brain.
3. Most Twitter users are disturbed
I find myself fascinating, but the reality is that I'm not, and neither are you. So with that in mind, why are some people creating Twitter accounts for their pets? Worst still, why are people creating Twitter accounts for the liver of another human being whom they've never met? Seriously, some people really should get out more.
4. It's mostly spam
When Twitter was launched, it was a communication tool that asked a simple question: 'What are you doing?' Nowadays, it's overrun by companies preaching their message and flogging their wares. That's not social networking, that's spam. If companies think I'm going to subscribe to 140-character versions of their press releases when I've already got an inbox full of the stuff, they've got another thing coming.
5. It's eating your brain
Finally, Twitter is fast becoming the tech equivalent of a tabloid newspaper or celebrity gossip rag. There's no harm in that, people can read what they like. The problem is that genuinely intelligent friends of mine -- people who scoff at OK!, Hello! and any other publication whose title ends in an exclamation mark -- have begun following stars on Twitter, as if it's somehow different to following their antics in the gossip pages.
Let me tell you something: retweeting the fact that Stephen Fry tweeted his way out of a stuck lift is basically the equivalent of texting everyone in your phone book that Britney was spotted getting out of a car wearing no underwear. The fact you did it over TweetDeck just makes you a voyeur and a geek.
I have no doubt Twitter will be something special in the future. Maybe one day, when we're all wirelessly connected to each others' brains, it'll be the best thing ever. But in the meantime, let's not lose track of its limitations. Let's also discover some etiquette and try not to ruin it before it becomes something half decent.
Comments on this post
couldn't have said it better myself
Posted by tj on Mon 16 February, 2009 5:55 PM
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Well said! I finally gave in and gave Twitter a go following the excessive number of articles on this site about it last week and I still don't understand what the heck the appeal is.
Posted by Kieron on Mon 16 February, 2009 6:19 PM
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Two weeks isn't a long time to assess the usefulness or otherwise of Twitter. I felt pretty much as you do after 2 weeks of using the service. But I persisted, because people whose opinion I respect were saying good things about it. It took me 2-3 months to really feel the benefit, but now I can honestly say that it's changed my life for the better. I'd be interested to hear whether you still feel the same after another couple of months using Twitter.
Posted by Dan Sumption on Mon 16 February, 2009 6:29 PM
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Rory, Rory, Rory! I can't believe you still don't get Twitter! Of course, some, nay... many of your points are indeed true, but it's not the whole truth 'cos the thing with Twitter is HOW you use it. To address your points: Who cares? Well, a Nutritionist might have a great suggeston for what to replace cheese with... and may find themselves with a new client as a result. If people's tweets are mundane - don't follow them! Follow those who are interesting - or who have information which could be useful to you. Too many stalkers. You have those stalkers anyway. They come and watch you and read your words every day on your website. You have no idea who they are. Twitter gives you the opportunity of actually engaging with those people who value what you have to say. Most Twitter users are disturbed. Not much to say on this one. My dog is on Twitter but who am I to tell him he can't join in the fun. :) Mostly spam. There's been a trend lately of people piling in and following 100's of people simply to get a huge following. But they are missing the point. Likewise, those people who do nothing but tweet "New blog post: shorturl/xyz" will find that no-one, not even their followers, are listening. You have to be valued or useful in some way to get them listen and that comes down to engagement. And 140-character tweets from businesses are great - they respect my time and mean I can unsubscribe from their email list and only deal with them when its convenient to me! It's eating your brain. Following stars on Twitter is completely and utterly different from reading gossip rags. For a start, it's from the horse's mouth. Doesn't mean something's true necessarily, but it is free. Not only that, but you can actually converse with them. The main reason perhaps why the tabloids are knocking celeb twitterings. They (the publications) are now surplus to requirement in that little menage a trois. A better argument for this last point might have been 'It's eating your time.' since you can get horribly distracted in there, but a little self-discipline is all that needs and there are plenty of apps and spin off sites that make life easier. I'm self-employed and I do think the value of Twitter is more obvious for 'us' than for the employed. For those working for ourselves, it's invaluable. It provides me with a community of like-minds to learn from, bounce ideas off, share resources, knowledge, connections and fun with. It's a chance to share who I am, not just what I do, but what I'm about, my 'personal brand'. For me it's like a huge party... too many people there to talk to everyone, but I'm guaranteed to find someone interesting each and every time I drop in and because people are there to network, no-one minds if I just sidle up to their little group and join in the conversation. I'm just gutted you don't share my view. It could have been so beautiful. :)
Posted by Claire Raikes on Mon 16 February, 2009 8:15 PM
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You raise some valid points, Claire. Not necessarily as valid as mine but valid all the same :) Perhaps I'll persevere with it. Add me and show me how it's supposed to be used!
Posted by Rory Reid (CNET UK) on Mon 16 February, 2009 10:20 PM
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After reading that giant post, I certainly have a new appreciation for Twitter's 140 character limit...
Posted by dan on Mon 16 February, 2009 11:28 PM
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You won't get SPAM if you don't follow people you deem to be SPAM-worthy. Many journalists find exclusives as well as breaking news. Many generate new business via Twitter. An agency recently won a £100k retainer with a major brand as a direct result of my recommendation. Although they knew me, they ask for the recommendation via a Twitter DM - I responded with a 140c DM. If you don't like 'stalkers' (as you call them - I call them people who are interested in what you have to say - a bit like your readers on this blog) then setup your account so users are forced to request your permission to follow you. Who Cares? Stephen Fry, Rory Cellan-Jones, Guardian/Telegraph/... journalists, senior people at major brands, successful entrepreneurs... "Most Twitter users are disturbed" - you could say the same about users on the Web generally. But don't tarnish everyone with the silly brush or you'll end up looking like someone stuck in the 90's "oh Internet marketing will never take off". My advice is to follow people you find interesting as well as people you know - not to mention influencers who will link back to your articles. Many twitter users have bigger audiences than typical media outputs such as trade magazines.
Posted by Paul Walsh on Mon 16 February, 2009 11:36 PM
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I forgot to mention that I found this blog post as a direct result of @cnetuk following me - I looked at the profile and then a few of the last tweets. So, had it not been for twitter, I would never have found this article - I might be disturbed, but I'm not a stalker.
Posted by Paul Walsh on Mon 16 February, 2009 11:45 PM
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An interesting piece Rory but ultimately you will be drawn closer to Twitter when you begin to see the benefits - in fact you are already seeing the benefits as per Paul W's last comment. Your business is all about eyeballs after all - wouldn't want to let CNET advetisers down would you? So why not use Twitter to increase the draw to your online CNET commentary? I am surprised that as a technology journalist, you didn't give it a better go before passing judgment - you do rather join the ranks of the mainstream press who are trying to make it "uncool" to be on Twitter without giving it due attention.
Posted by Matt Cross on Tue 17 February, 2009 9:23 AM
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It's often difficult deciding how much time to spend with a product or service before passing judgment, but I believe I've given Twitter a fair shot. I actually signed up to the service about a year ago when it first launched, but only used it sporadically because the content was so mind-numbingly dull (see 1). A year later, it has grown in popularity, so I returned to see if it had improved. This time I spent a solid two weeks with it, which is -- generally speaking -- more than I'd spend reviewing any product in my remit, be it cars or computers. That's just how it works, I'm afraid. Journos simply don't have any more time unless it's a one-off special feature. I'd be an idiot if I didn't see the benefits -- there are plenty. That's why we've set up the CNET UK account and ran Twitter week -- to (potentially) help drive our audience. I still don't think Twitter's all that great, though, but that's mostly because the vast majority of its users are abusing it (see 1, 3, 4). Sure, senior people at big brands are tweeting the gospel, but I get the feeling many of them are just falling in line because it's in fashion and it has potential -- not because it's actually any good. And as for getting exclusives, the best way to do that is face to face over a pint, building a proper relationship. If a one-off phone call, IM or facebook poke can't help you get exclusives, I don't see how a 140-character twet can, either. I'm not trying to be cool or contrary, and I'm not going out of my way to make it seem uncool. It just IS uncool. Read the last tweet you received and ask yourself: "would the Fonz send this?" I don't think he would. Don't get me wrong -- it has great potential. Perhaps when I cull the list of people I follow so I no longer have to see what people are eating for breakfast, or how smelly their last fart was, I'll enjoy it a tiny bit more. But then again if I do that, I won't be following ANYONE.
Posted by Rory Reid (CNET UK) on Tue 17 February, 2009 1:03 PM
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cheese and crackers, can't believe rory still got a job at cnet. Don't tell me they pay you as well. What a freaking waste of money.
Posted by ttcircus on Wed 18 February, 2009 1:10 PM
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An honest opinion is worth a lot. Thanks for yours. My initial experience was terrible - not only I followed idiots, but also I said idiotic things like "Reading book whatever". However... I needed to understand this "web2.0" thing better, so I started following some people whose blogs I liked. What I found is that these people filter a LOT of content, and maybe 50% of it is good - a higher success rate than I would get on my own at this stage. So Twitter gained my respect since then. It's almost an RSS feed now - maybe not what it's intended for, but that's how it's working for me. Note that this implies that its usefulness will diminish as I develop my own high-quality filter, since I'm not interested in the "fun" side of it. Then again, my usefulness to others will increase as I start to "pay back my debt" and tweet useful stuff.
Posted by Gustavo Ballvé on Fri 20 February, 2009 5:28 PM
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Finally someone speaks out against the hype. I totally agree that twitter is a pile of crap - it had been my opinion since the minute I created an account.
Posted by alex a on Mon 23 February, 2009 10:34 PM
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Opening March 21 in NYC is a new play by PLAYWRIGHT LARRY MYERS who takes to task tweets & twitters However he sees some value in any community after all the theater is an infinite timeless community
Posted by lolita martin on Wed 25 February, 2009 12:00 AM
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Yes! this right here is the nail on the head. I totally agree, it's full of Spam and pointless comments. The second anything fun comes along the "Companies" will pounce on it in heart beat and burn it to the ground. All I ever see now are people trying to promote themselves unashamedly. It's also funny to note that nearly everyone who is sticking up for it are claiming it to be a great Marketing tool. This is the Exact reason why it's down the pan, it's not a marketing tool and it should have never been one.
Posted by Shaun on Mon 13 April, 2009 3:04 PM
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What's tragic is that Google indexes all the nonsense that this guy spews out, and since it carries the weight of CNet, it actually comes up in people's searches, wasting their valuable time.
Posted by Anonymous on Mon 20 April, 2009 2:32 PM
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If you love it so much, why are you googling "Twitter sucks"?
Posted by Verona on Thu 7 May, 2009 4:06 PM
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Ive been after a certain inactive account that hasnt been used for a year now, persistantly submitting tickets to twitter bugging them as much as possible to make noise and get noticed and they STILL after 2 weeks now wont give me the account. i'm about to throw my arms in the air and just wait for facebook URL landrush to get my name. myspace has too many trashy / punk kids for my liking.. facebook is for classy people
Posted by joe riley on Sun 7 June, 2009 12:58 AM
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DUE TWITTER IS AMAZING YOU DONUT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by dk on Tue 13 October, 2009 9:54 AM
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DUE TWITTER IS AMAZING YOU DONUT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by dk on Tue 13 October, 2009 9:54 AM
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Articles by Rory Reid
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