"Nick Sabalausky" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]... > "Jarrett Billingsley" <[email protected]> wrote in message > news:mailman.190.1229232715.22690.digitalmars-d-annou...@puremagic.com... >> On Sun, Dec 14, 2008 at 12:17 AM, John Reimer <[email protected]> >> wrote: >>> Hello Nick, >>> >>>> "Walter Bright" <[email protected]> wrote in message >>>> news:[email protected]... >>>> >>>>> I started one to see how that works out for D. >>>>> http://twitter.com/WalterBright >>>>> >>>> Call me a curmudgeon, but does anyone ever read twitters? They seem to >>>> be enormously popular to write, though I've never understood why. >>>> (Maybe I'm just not a "web 2.0" kind of guy -> I've never cared for >>>> social networking sites, either.) >>>> >>> >>> >>> I find it odd too and fail to see why the fad attracts people. I'm >>> guessing >>> that the popularity of it is due the attraction the idea has for certain >>> personality types: something like an opportunity for the less expressive >>> to >>> express themselves free of the obligations rigour (no more thought to >>> choosing words carefully, I suppose). In the manner of blogs, maybe >>> people >>> just like talking about themselves... only twitter seems to take it once >>> step further, where the reader is entertained with decidedly less >>> thought >>> provoking material. I just don't get it. Maybe I should /not/ be >>> looking >>> at twitter as an information resource. But if it's just a way people >>> can >>> connect with one another to let each other know they are there, then all >>> they really need is a flashy red or green light. Add to that a beeping >>> noise for extra effect. >>> >>> The other alternative is that it's just yet another "marketing" scheme >>> that >>> has succeeded in making people think that it's the "thing to do". I'm >>> sure >>> facebook fans would eat this one up. :) >>> >>> The last option is that I'm just a boring killjoy that doesn't get it. I >>> dunno ;). >>> But I'm sure this isn't the last clever idea to make it's rounds on the >>> internet. >> >> I found this article pretty interesting, at least as far as an insight >> into what some people see in Twitter and similar services. >> >> http://tinyurl.com/6ng7tg > > Only read the first couple pages of that, but that's kind of interesting. > The description of "like a social gazette from the 18th century", seems to > really make it all "click": both why it's so popular and why I find myself > not interested. The stuff on the second page makes it sound like a > primitive version of (and here I go into scifi-geek territory) a borg-like > mental link (minus the imperialistic tendencies). Seems to make for a > potential antidote to the claims some people make about computer > technology driving people apart. Also interesting from a marketing > standpoint: giving people what they don't realize they want. I'm still > perfectly content remaining on the sidelines for this stuff, though.
"Virtual roomate" might be an appropriate term.
