Comments on: Step Away From the Tweet

By: Renata

Renata — Mon, 10 May 2010 04:44:52 +0000

Yes, i think that facebook ad twitter have changed the way people communicate. I think that people feel more comfortable talking through text than in person or over the phone. Technology has changed the way people communicate.

By: A glance into a networked classroom – what tools will we use this week? (and why) | PIPEDREAMS

Mon, 10 May 2010 02:48:48 +0000

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By: Jeff

Jeff — Mon, 10 May 2010 02:22:19 +0000

I’ve enjoyed reading the conversation. I was conversing with some of my students the other day about blogging vs. twitter. None of the students I spoke with had knowledge of blogging or its use. When I described it for them, your sentiments (original post) proved to be true. The idea of engaging in an online conversation that required critical thought intimidated them. They preferred the more superficial avenue that Twitter allows. However, I think that students can be eased into the process of engaging in more meaningful conversations online by making use of blogs in the classroom. Part of the issue involves maturity (these students are simply not interested in spending their time online engaged in thicker conversation) and another part involves understanding (they do not understand the value and how it relates to them due to a lack of exposure). It will be interesting to see student perspectives after exposure.

By: Safina Noorani

Safina Noorani — Fri, 07 May 2010 14:23:13 +0000

Interesting perspective and great comments. The other day, I asked my students to do some reading and make some connections, then to create a hypothesis based on their connections and write it on the board. Then I asked the students to read their friends’ work, and then pick one or two that they liked, and describe why. The majority agreed that they liked the shorter ones. They were still able to extract deep thoughts and main ideas from one sentence, yet found the succinctness mesmerizing. Therein is the beauty of twitter. It is succinct. It is mesmerizing.

By: online kids games

online kids games — Fri, 07 May 2010 09:29:22 +0000

I always felt that twitter isn’t meant for real conversations to take place. More like a noisy pub where you just meet people and say hi

By: web traffic

web traffic — Mon, 03 May 2010 07:11:13 +0000

As much as I like and use Twitter, I’ve never bought into the idea of it being a place for serious conversation. Most of what might pass for discussion seems more like a tennis match of the type we used to have in middle school: people lobbing comments and ideas across the net with no clear idea if anything will come back.

Even so, I still find a lot of useful and interesting posts in my Twitter stream. And if that ever changes, I can always unfollow those who are clogging up the works and find others who are worth the time and effort. Something I’ve learned about my PLN is that it has to continually evolve to be valuable.

By: Steve Ransom

Steve Ransom — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 01:43:01 +0000

Hah! 49 comments so far… exceeded my figure of 40 a day ago. How many found there way here via tweets on Twitter vs. their RSS readers, I wonder…

Nice diversity of perspective represented here.

@Patrick, I love that analogy that you share, “…on some levels Twitter is like an ad or commercial for your point of view…”

By: Ewan McIntosh

Ewan McIntosh — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 00:35:55 +0000

On Twitter I stand a better chance of catching conversations that, say, on this blog post. I clicked from the feedreader and discover (as always) a steady slew of comments. I make my way through about half before, aware of other things pressing on my time, I jump down here to make a comment that someone else may well have made already.

When I notice a comment on a blog post on Twitter – and this is now how most people comment on my posts, rather than on the blog itself – I generally spot it and, if I don’t, I stand a pretty good chance of spotting it if, as here, 40, 50, 60, 100, 150 people choose to add their own view. The wider scale of time to ‘catch’ a story on Twitter, as opposed to the one-time opportunity afforded by a blog reader when the original post is submitted, is its greatest boon. On the flipside, the conversations had about my own posts on Twitter are now permanently disjointed from the ones happening on the blog, and the blog post is the permalink that I go back to when I want to revise my learning.

Now, I mustn’t forget to click “Notify me of followup comments via email”

By: Marilyn Mossman

Marilyn Mossman — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 17:57:48 +0000

I Twitter less and less and use Plurk more often. I find that it’s much easier to have a conversation on Plurk. On Twitter I always seem to miss some of the thread and when a hashtag is used, the results are just overwhelming. I think Twitter works well for quick sharing and maybe as a back channel at a conference. But most of my time is now spent on Plurk. Check it out and join the real conversation!

By: Shelly

Shelly — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 17:51:50 +0000

Tweet #1: Ostensibly, there are different ‘types’ of ‘conversation’, no?

Tweet #2: And even differing definitions of what constitutes ‘extended’.

Tweet #3: Perhaps we look at Twitter as a longitudinal thing…

Tweet #4: With the ability to use search to examine patterns of thinking…

Tweet #5: As well as the links folks used as support for their thinking.

Tweet #6: It’s gonna be a goldmine for anthropologists and those who study intellectual history…

Tweet #7: As well as psychologists and sociologists mapping human behavior.

Tweet #8: And while it doesn’t beat a conversation over a bagel…

Tweet #9 Ultimately our Tweets may say more about a way of thinking than what we thought.

Tweet #10: And the public nature of the end result — however stifled — may turn out

Tweet #11: #mostinteresting

By: Diane Lauer

Diane Lauer — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 13:16:02 +0000

I hadn’t heard of twittertime.es What a wonderful tool. As a new tweeter, I am trying to fathom the stream of tweets when you begin following close to 1,000, 2,000, 10,000 people. I am no where close to that yet. I like the diversity of the platform. It’s purpose is different from a longer conversation. Like that saying, if all I have is a hammer, every issue looks like a nail. As an educator, I am learning to tweet because I believe in flexible thinking and access to information. We need a range of communication modes and styles to touch the different people around the globe. I follow people on Twitter who I would never have the opportunity to know otherwise. I wouldn’t Facebook with them either – they wouldn’t friend me. Twitter truly is a fascinating medium.

By: Patrick Larkin

Patrick Larkin — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 12:20:02 +0000

I don’t know if this makes sense, but on some levels Twitter is like an ad or commercial for your point of view. The hope is that you make a connection with other like-minded people and go deeper through another medium.

By: Will Richardson

Will Richardson — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 11:15:55 +0000

No question.

By: Will Richardson

Will Richardson — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 11:15:28 +0000

Totally willing to entertain the idea that the conversation space is changing. Just still wondering if a) we’re beginning to define “conversation” (as that cartoon depicts) as what happens on Twitter and b) if so, whether or not that is a good thing.

I’ll say it again, I find a lot of value in having Twitter as a part of my learning life.

By: Will Richardson

Will Richardson — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 11:10:16 +0000

I thought more about this comment last night Gary, and I see your point to some extent. I’m an outlier in the number of comments I get on my blog. I hope I can still appreciate the frustration of those who don’t. Maybe my perspective on this whole conversation thing is skewed by the back and forth that happens here.

But it makes my point, in one way. Assuming you agree there is value in this thread, which may be a big assumption, but assuming you do, now let’s try to Tweet the whole thing. Let’s limit these comments to 140 characters, space them out over about 2000 tweets over three days, and lets see where that gets us.

And, I have to say, doesn’t Twitter set itself up to be a popularity contest? Aren’t you the one rubbing elbows with celebrities there? ;0)

Twitter has huge value in my life, no question. All I’m saying is that it’s hard for me to go deep there.