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Twitter Jumped the Shark This Week
Christinne Muschi / Reuters
It's not a business—and now that Rep. Joe Barton is doing it, it's not even hip anymore.
It’s time to Twitter the f%$k up.
It’s just madness. First email. Then instant message. Then MySpace. Then Facebook. Then LinkedIn. Then Twitter. It’s not enough anymore to “Just do it.” Now we have to tell everyone we are doing it, when we are doing it, where we are doing it and why we are doing it.
Every day I am being told to sign up for Tumblr, Yammer, Friendfeed, Plaxo, Last.fm, ping.fm or the hot social-media tool du jour that happened to get mentioned on Mashable.com. It is like a social-media arms race. Each one of these “new” tools is like a cool new night club. Hot today, gone tomorrow, replaced with something else.
I've decided to spend that time on the handful of people I really care about. I write them real letters.
Twitter is not a business. I know its founders would like to think it is. It is, for the most part, a diversion. It’s part of the web 2.0 nonsense that believes if you build anything, venture capitalists will throw money at it and then some old-media dinosaur will buy you for a gazillion dollars. But, I suspect those days are over.
Now, I get why people might be interested in what Lance Armstrong is doing. And I get why Lance Armstrong Twitters. He’s building an army of cancer-cure advocates and has legions of bicycle fans and it is, therefore, a great way to inform and mobilize the troops.
But this week in Washington D.C., Twitter jumped the shark when, to great fanfare, members of the mainstream-media elite announced they had been baptized and would from now on be holding forth from Twitterdom, and then members of Congress Twittered President Obama’s speech. This from Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas): “Aggie basketball game is about to start on espn2 for those of you that aren't going to bother watching pelosi smirk for the next hour.” Now, I’m totally down with Ana Marie Cox, the original Wonkette, being the reigning journalism media queen of Twitter. She’s young and hip and all-things-new-media. But, Joe Barton is, well, not. If Joe Barton is Twittering, I’m thinking maybe Ana Marie may be on the next idea. And if members of Congress are Twittering, we can be fairly certain it won’t be hip much longer.
I admit, I tried to be Twitter hip. I even wrote a blog about how Twitter could be a useful political tool under the notion that hearing voters Twitter a debate could provide unique, real-time insights into their behavior and thinking.
But I’m giving it up. I know I’ll get roasted for being anti-tech. But, what I really am is pro-meaningful communication. And somewhere along the Internet highway, we fell under the spell that more communication is better communication. Sometimes more communication is just noise.
Which links up to the idea that more friends means better and more meaningful relationships. I’ve come to believe the opposite is true. I hear of people bragging about breaking the 1,000-friend mark in Facebook. I challenge them to name 100 of those friends.
Because of a good deal of luck, I have a job and live a life that creates opportunities for intersections with a lot of people. But, I realized the more I tried to maintain links to the ever-expanding universe of acquaintances in my orbit through the ever-increasing number of tools to connect with them, the less I was spending real quality time on the people who really matter to me.
My old friend and political nemesis Paul Begala is one of the smartest people I know. He’s also figured out a lot about life as well. And he said something once that has really stuck with me: “I’m not filling out any applications for new friends,” he said, “until I do a better job with the ones I’ve got.”
So, I’ve taken that lesson to heart. Instead of spending hours trying to add to the number of friends on Facebook or followers on Twitter, I’ve decided to spend that time on the handful of people I really care about. I write them real letters. I try to remember their kids’ names and their birthdays. I want to know about their lives. I want to know if they are happy in their marriages; in their careers. If they’re not, or if they are sick, I want to know if there is something I can do to help. Meaningful friendships require constant attention, nourishment, feeding and watering. It requires quality time. Not just a Tweet.
Let me be clear. Social media provides new ways to connect and interact with people; and it is a powerful and important tool. There are hundreds of dynamic applications that are improving the way we communicate, work and live. But, it is just as important that we stand back from time to time and focus as much on what we are saying as how we are saying it. In the end, whether it's snail mail, email or Facebook, my point is that it’s ultimately most important to communicate in a meaningful way. Don't just fall in love with the tool. Fall back in love with having real conversations.
If you disagree, and I know many will, Tweet away.
RELATED: Let's Stop the Twitter Madness by Lee Woodruff
As vice chairman of Public Strategies and president of Maverick Media, Mark McKinnon has helped meet strategic challenges for candidates, causes, and individuals, including George W. Bush, John McCain, Lance Armstrong, and Bono. McKinnon is co-chairman of Arts & Labs, a collaboration between technology and creative communities that have embraced today’s rich internet environment to deliver innovative and creative digital products to consumers.
How Rich People Smoke Pot
Paul Schrodt is a writer living in New York City. He has contributed to New York magazine, Radar, and Esquire.com.
Justice Clinton?
As vice chairman of Public Strategies and president of Maverick Media, Mark McKinnon has helped meet strategic challenges for candidates, corporations and causes, including George W. Bush, John McCain, Governor Ann Richards, Charlie Wilson, Lance Armstrong, and Bono. McKinnon is co-chair of Arts & Labs, a collaboration between technology and creative communities that have embraced today's rich Internet environment to deliver innovative and creative digital products to consumers.
Justice Clinton?
As vice chairman of Public Strategies and president of Maverick Media, Mark McKinnon has helped meet strategic challenges for candidates, corporations and causes, including George W. Bush, John McCain, Governor Ann Richards, Charlie Wilson, Lance Armstrong, and Bono. McKinnon is co-chair of Arts & Labs, a collaboration between technology and creative communities that have embraced today's rich Internet environment to deliver innovative and creative digital products to consumers.
Myra Adams is a media producer, writer and political observer. Her media clients have included national associations, political interest groups and corporations. She was on the creative team with Mark McKinnon that created the now infamous John Kerry "Windsurfing" ad for the Bush 2004 presidential campaign and served on the McCain Ad Council during the 2008 McCain campaign. Myra's web site www.TheJesusStore.com contributes all profits to Christian charity.
Grill Him Again!
As vice chairman of Public Strategies and president of Maverick Media, Mark McKinnon has helped meet strategic challenges for candidates, corporations and causes, including George W. Bush, John McCain, Governor Ann Richards, Charlie Wilson, Lance Armstrong, and Bono. McKinnon is co-chair of Arts & Labs, a collaboration between technology and creative communities that have embraced today's rich Internet environment to deliver innovative and creative digital products to consumers.
Not a Game-Changer
As vice chairman of Public Strategies and president of Maverick Media, Mark McKinnon has helped meet strategic challenges for candidates, corporations and causes, including George W. Bush, John McCain, Governor Ann Richards, Charlie Wilson, Lance Armstrong, and Bono. McKinnon is co-chair of Arts & Labs, a collaboration between technology and creative communities that have embraced today's rich Internet environment to deliver innovative and creative digital products to consumers.
MysteriousTraveller
Shorter Mark McKinnon - hey you kids, get offa my lawn.
scalpeljunkie19
So true, it's sad. I'm 18 and my generation is fully immersed in the demise of meaningful communication. We are the kings of instant communication, but get most of us into a real life, face to face, conversation about something real and be prepared for awkward silences galore. We just don't know how to have a legitimate, lengthy conversation, instead we drag the same exchange over weeks of back and forth comments or posts on facebook or myspace. Something that could've taken only a few minutes to an hour and benefited both parties now takes days or weeks and is reduced to antiseptic little blurbs on a computer screen.
Lizzyville
"Don't just fall in love with the tool. Fall back in love with having real conversations."
You see it as a tool because you haven't looked deeply into it to see the kind of value it adds. Twitter can be addictive and a big time-suck, but only if people let themselves become addicted. Otherwise, it is a valuable way to connect - with some of people you represent, dare I add - and can really open doors professionally and personally. Not only that, it's a source of news, gossip and other information.
We're not talking about the signifier here, we're talking about the sign.
kaleb85
"I've decided to spend that time on the handful of people I really care about. I write them real letters."
I use a quill, and send the letter via carrier pigeon. Also, I've recently started using the telegraph again.
kms34786
Amazingly got this off of a tweet from Ana Marie Cox.
You are right more friends, doesn't mean more love. It only means more work and more effort needed to build those relationships. Unfortunately that comes with a cost to those you already have relationships with. But to me that doesn't mean you throw in the towel. You just put fences up to control the effort you make in this area and get that there's only so much communicating one can do.
You actually have to have something to share yourself for a conversation or relationship to be valuable. Too many don't get that. They shout at the top of their lungs and create an echo chamber. They have nothing to share and the conversation turns in to a noise that drowns out what might otherwise be a valuable conduit of information.
I'd encourage you to reconsider. There are those that want to hear your thoughts and getting them in twitter or facebook may be easier than coming to "The Beast". Learn how to "Block", make some time for thoughtful meditation, Keep connecting, keep trying and know that sometimes you kiss 100 frogs to find 1 prince. But finding the prince is what life is about (at least for me)
DoyceT
You miss the points. Several points, actually.
1. These networks are not about maintaining contact with your close friends, no matter WHAT facebook calls your contacts: it's about maintaining contact with your community. Like the people in your neighborhood that you know well only enough to trick-or-treat and sell girlscout cookies to, these are people you send a low-grade signal out to, to maintain community.
Everyone has a community. Lance Armstrong's community is bigger than mine - that's fine; Cancer is bigger than me, too. That doesn't mean my personal community isn't useful and valuable to me, based on the scope of things I accomplish with it.
2. Twitter is a bit of waste if what you're doing with it is simply saying "This is what I just did." It's banal and pointless at that level. Use it for "this is what I'm thinking" or "this is something you should know about", and it's telepathy of the best kind.
dwellspeak
Amen!
seakiev
ah finally someone willing to not drink the koolaid. The other week I went on vacation and did not take my computer. I did not answer email, blog, twitter, facebook. I simply spent time with my friends. Guess what: life is good in the real world.
gaptoothedgrind
hours on facebook and twitter? really? where do you find time to go to the nickelodeon? or ride your velociped to the polo grounds? i hear smiling mickey welch is tops in the league. also, when will your section of the bible be done? matt, luke and john all got their stuff in on time...
PolitiKit
I still love twitter, but I agree with most of this - I do think it jumped the shark this week and I don't think it's any substitution for real life relationships. But I still think it's incredibly useful, and I don't think it's impossible to form good relationships there by meeting new people you may not otherwise have the opportunity to meet.
I'm not in a position where I get to meet a wide varitey of folks, so I appreciate what I get to see there - even if it's just a one-sided exposure to other ideas. I think there are some media personalities (beyond Ana Marie) who are managing to make it something more than an impersonal promotion tool.
But it's silly to obsess about how many followers you have or whatever, just for the sheer number of followers you have, if you have no idea whether or not those people are adding you because they think you're interesting or because they're serial adders. If you're looking for something other than just an echo chamber for your thoughts, quality always > quanity, in terms of face-to-face relationships and on-line relationships.
Munodi
Twitter is for egomaniacs who crave attention and think what they have to say should be seen by EVERYONE!
gbrandonthomas
Interesting thought. I think the line is somewhere in between. Users can leverage social networks to keep tabs on a larger cadre of people, and still retain and even enhance more intimate friendships. I love that I can know where long-lost people are and what they are up to - sometimes providing an opportunity / reason to get back in touch.
Check this article out about how people are still maintaining relationships with a small group of people, despite having 100 "friends" in Facebook: http://www.insidefacebook.com/2009/02/27/facebooks-in-house-sociologist-sha res-stats-on-users-social-behavior/
This comment has been removed by The Daily Beast's editors.
thair1
Perhaps it is the addiction part that keeps Mr. McKinnon from wanting to use it?
thair1
McKinnon isn't interested in any medium that he can't manipulate or control and he isn't keen on anything he can't spin or where PR agents can't frame the message. Bottom up communications is anathema to the spin-Nazi as we like to call him.
Thank you.
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