New social media, sometimes referred to as Web 2.0, is a funny thing. Take Twitter, for example. Right off the bat, you have to wonder why anyone would come up with a name that suggests you are a twit for using it. If the posts themselves are called Tweets, why not call the whole thing Tweeter? I don't get it.
What's so different about Twitter? It seems to me to be a spiffy version of instant messenger technology like ICQ, which has been around for probably two decades now. Beneath all the hype, it's just a rebranding of older technology, with a snazzy new interface. Its like having the status updates of Facebook without all the other (admittedly useful) stuff. I confess that I still don't get it.
The fact that Twitter seems to be a revamping of pre-existing technology makes me feel a bit manipulated. I can't go out and cram my new invention down people's throats, insisting that its the next big thing, when its just a pair of shoes with some lasers taped to the side. But that's the difference that a massive ad campaign makes I guess.
What reactions are people out there having to Twitter? Any converts?
I couldn't resist adding this video...
I feel like a twit when it comes to twitter - I just don't get what makes it special, but I do think it could make an entertaining addition to the upper-class twit of the year competition.
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