I guess I’m suspicious about social networking disguised as something that has work value, as I have a side of my life that’s exposed me to a distinctly “slacker” side of our–for want of a better word–society. And I figure we don’t need to encourage ourselves or any other adult to get lost in non-productive playing.

I’m curious about Twitter because there seems to be the germ of usefulness to it. I just haven’t quite figured out how: the proper measure of tweeting and living a life. It does sound to me like, say, following 50 people (of whatever stripe, in whatever line) can be time-consuming enough to render one completely unproductive–unless one knows to break off for work.

But I’m getting old enough that I see people younger than myself and shake my head at how recreational their whole lives appear to be. And I’m still young enough that I could become obsessive about something that I could come to regard as cool. Surrounded by Wi-Fi, I can’t wait to replace my dead laptop–seems to me that’s the only way to be able to really participate in Twitter. If my enthusiasm does fade before I get the MacBook Pro I’m planning on.

Hi Daniel. Welcome to Inspiration Bit. Well done on putting Copyblogger’s contest together.

Hi Komodo Dragon. It doesn’t hurt to give it a try, just keep in mind that it takes time to get used to Twitter, but once you “get” it, you should try limiting yourself with the amount of time you spend on tweets: both reading and posting.

Hi Rob. It’s nice to see you over here. With the number of your followers on Twitter, it’s not surprising that you spend lots of time on replies and catching up with their tweets. Btw, all the best to you in settling down in Palo Alto ;-)

Stephen, I can completely relate to you. I’ve opened an account on Twitter only because of our Social Media Mega Project, and haven’t used it much since then until only recently. You may want to read Elliot Jay Stock’s “blessay on Twitter” and see if it’s something that appeals to you.

When I do post, it’s often part of a conversation using @replies. Or I could be writing a small comment, somewhat like a miniature blog post. And sometimes I write something boring, like “drinking a glass of wine”.

I just recently got turned on to Twitter with the CB 140-character contest, and I am finding it pretty cool.

By the way, as for the contest itself, I was getting fed up with trying to read all the entries, flicking back and forth between CB and twitter, so I put together an aggregated list where all entries can be viewed in one place. If you share the same frustration, you may want to check it out; just head over to my blog, a quick explanation and links to two different views are there.

I have followed you on Twitter – look forward to seeing your future posts there and here.

Cheers,

Daniel Smith
Smithereens Blog

I have to say though, it *can* still be time-sink. It’s really hard not to click every link posted by your friends when you see new tweets in your twitter app of choice! ;)

Isabella, you’re definitely a Queen of Twitter. You always have something interesting to say, and I see you’ve got lots of conversations going on with your followers. Keep up your twits, I’m learning from you too ;-)

Kulpreet, I’m glad that you’ve learned something new from my little post on Twitter ;)

I didn’t know about Twitter Feed, thanks for posting it. I will start using that.

-k.s.

having said all this – i firmly believe that every social media tool has a certain feel and culture, and i think in order to use it well, we must each individually feel comfortable with it. i personally am a great twitter and stumbleupon enthusiast – but that’s my style. i totally understand that others are more into, say, facebook, LinkedIn or flickr.