Keywords

Asynchronicity

Info Tech, Language

I never liked team sports, I never liked playing the dozens, I never liked being put on the spot … Its not that I’m introverted — I’m not. I’m just not quick-witted” (or at least not as quick as I’d like to be). Some people love talking on the phone, love chat rooms, love instant messaging, etc. but others prefer their communication out of sync. For them there is e-mail, blogging, forums, and now … Twitter.

Asynchronous communication allows you to check in and check out on your own time. The conversation is a stream into which you can choose to dip your toes or go for a swim, or just gaze upon from a distance, depending on your mood.

Some people feel overwhelmed by the river of information flowing by. They feel the need to respond to everything, or shut it off completely. This is because they haven’t yet learned that you don’t need to read everything, respond to everything, cognitively process everything that is said or written. For them Twitter is simply a distraction.

Perhaps. But perhaps Twitter is actually less distracting than a phone call, IM, or even an e-mail which demands a response. You don’t need to respond to a Tweet. Not if you don’t want to.

Or at least I don’t think you do. I just downloaded Twitterific and started using it today. I’m not yet sure how I’ll use it. It might be an alternative to chat, or simply a way of keeping track of how I spend my time. Perhaps I will end up integrating it into my website in some way … In any case, I like the idea and I’m going to play with it for a while. So far, the only person I know who Tweets is Ilya. If you read this blog and have a Twitter account, let me know.

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