Monday, June 27, 2011

The Too Big to Fail Whale

I've been on The Twitter for about a year now, and although I'm occasionally amused, I still don't quite get it.


Eventually, as the technology progresses, Twitter will outlive its usefulness. As much as people enjoy yelling out into the void and seeing what other people yell back, Twitter will only last so long. Like AOL, MySpace, and others before it, it will die a slow death as newer, fancier ideas supplant it. This may happen in two years or in twenty, but when it succumbs we won't mourn it for long. We'll adapt and keep on going, because no matter how the media evolves, we'll always have something to say. At least, I know I will.

My whale is too big to fail.

(Okay, so I really just wanted to mess with Twitter's imagery. Not that it makes anything I've said any less true...)

18 comments:

  1. Gratuitous or not, that's pretty clever image-messery! ...and you do make some valid points about Twitter.

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  2. LOL. I'm with you. I don't get it either!

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  3. I still don't know what I'm doing on Twitter...

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  4. I don't know...I think MySpace could make a comeback.

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  5. I like the 'Fail Whale'. He pops into my head everytime some major FU in my life comes along. In fact, I need a T-shirt with him on it. As for Twitter, I enjoy saying hello to people from other countries and playing hashtag games. I enjoy it far more than FB, probably because Twitter seems less 'personal'. I don't want to know about people's drama, family probs, relationships, see endless pics of their toddlers and dogs, etc. I just want to exchange a little friendly banter and be on my way. I suppose I sound anti-social....

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  6. Cool whale. I don't hang out in Twitter. If it's fleeting, guess I won't be missing much.

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  7. like you I have been on for a while, but don't get it really. I can't say I have found anyone with tweets interesting enough for me to follow with any level of dedication. I don't really do celebrity gossip.

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  8. i have a theory that we're seeing the beginning of facebook's fall

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  9. Bridget, glad you like the image. And of course my points about Twitter are valid. Why would I lie? (Don't answer that.)

    Jessica, I admit it does have some actual benefits, specifically in times of disaster (natural or otherwise). But other than that, it mostly seems like a bunch of people yelling to get heard.

    Alex, join the club. That's not to say there is a club, but--We should form a club!

    M.J., only if it starts using its old pages as blackmail material...

    li: I may prefer the interactions I can have with friends on Facebook to the less personal format of Twitter, but neither is necessarily better than the other. It all comes down to personal taste. (And plenty of people on both sites have absolutely none of that.)

    Mary, I don't know if the Twits are fleeting, but I figure most things eventually become old news, and with the internet it happens faster than ever. And a good chunk of what Twitter has to offer is celebrity stalking and learning what your friends had for breakfast.

    RJR: Oh, it's not all celebrity gossip. Some of it is celebrities hawking their wares.

    Falen, I contend Facebook peaked a year or two ago, whenever it was that people started getting tired of Mafia Wars and Farmville. (Have people stopped playing those? I blocked both apps, so for all I know they could be as strong as ever. Ooh, maybe they've been combined. That could be pretty fun... unless all you ever do is go around trying to shoot up some pigs.)

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  10. I don't really get it either. I just don't have the time all in a row to spend at it. FB is more my speed--find a couple conversations I'm interested in, comment--come back a few hours later and see what was said... Twitter you have to keep watching to stay up on the convo.

    That said, it sure makes it easy for something to go viral, so that's useful.

    I like your flying whale...

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  11. Hehehe it's so true. Although I sort of broke that rule when I left FB to become a blogger...

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  12. What is this "Twitter" of which thou speaketh?

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  13. Your post makes me want to go read Moby Dick. And after the disappointment of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, I'm just not sure that's a risk I can afford to take.

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  14. Ah yes, I've heard of this 'Twitter' where you can read fascinating updates about folk's lives because it's so vital for me to know that someone just had a cup of coffee.
    A whale of a good posting and lets hope they find a cure for 'Moby Dick' :)

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  15. Hart, I favor Facebook for the same reason. Oh, and my whale isn't flying. He's diving ever deeper, pulling the birds down with him. (Perhaps they're fail quail.)

    Misha, you're actually allowed to both blog and be on Facebook. It's an option hidden deep within FB's Account Settings section...

    Bryce, 'tis but a forum wherein users, or "twidiots," can informeth the unfettered masses about which marshmallowed cereal they've selected to break their fast that morn.

    Jeffrey, read the Cliff Notes version instead. That's the version where some guy watched all the action unfold from atop a cliff, so he didn't have nearly as many details as Melville stuck in there. I tops out at about 50 pages.

    klahanie, I've just had a cup of coffee. And a scone. (I figured you're not on The Twitter, and I didn't want you missing out...)

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  16. Funny post and comments! Not a twit yet, but I've been a spaceface for long enough to see a downward trend going on lately. I happen to like facebook but it's mainly a distraction . . . like knowing what everyone ate for breakfast and where.
    Loved the imagery.

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  17. Thanks, Tyrean. Yep, Facebook is starting to slide a bit, but it's not going anywhere just yet. But to assist with the distraction, this morning I ate green eggs and ham on a boat with a goat.

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  18. I still haven't bothered with Twitter so if it goes away then I guess I didn't waste anytime--well not with Twitter at least.


    Lee
    Tossing It Out

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