May 23, 2015
"I don't believe in Twitter."
The post title is a quote from me from that clip. This morning — the day after the dialogue — I'm contemplating the line to the tune of the old John Lennon song: "I don't believe in I-ching/I don't believe in Bible/I don't believe in Tarot..." etc., etc. "The dream is over...."
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27 comments:
Wow, you really liked this Talking Heads episode.
Sorry. Bloggingheads.
I'm just trying to pull out a few clips, since I know people are averse to watching a whole hour.
I wouldn't say I "really liked" this one. If I put my Bloggingheadses in order of my belief in how good they are, I wouldn't have gone to this one, I don't think. But these things take a fair amount of time to do, time that might have been spent directly writing for this blog. Doing these clips is a way to use the material here.
Thanks for sharing, Ann. I think you nailed it with your assertion that it is geared for celebrities, and doesn't drive traffic to websites or blogs. Imagine if we had to deal with the 140-something character limitation when you are explaining many of your ideas.
My thought is to leave tweeting to the birds.
I visit twitter accounts like blog sites, e.g.
https://twitter.com/iowahawkblog
and it shows up for me at least as just a blog.
Maybe it's different if you have an account.
This particular bloggingheads was ruined by Wright going on about Iraq. One-track mind, we got it the first time.
Vicki Hearne says that if you're married to an avid boater, you just have to keep them away from water and it's okay.
"I visit twitter accounts like blog sites, e.g."
Yeah, that's a way to overcome the problem of Twitter feeling like a meaningless torrent of things that are instantly disappearing. I say in the diavlog that I prefer blogging because blogging feels like a plane where you can go.
Twitter is the place to find breaking news. It's faster than any newswire, and more accurate too.
Twitter is a graphical pager.
I hated pagers...
I stayed for the whole thing and it was pretty interesting. At the end when mention of Letterman's postmodernism came up I was thinking that what made early Dave so weird and funny was his instinctive sense of the absurdity of his work as he was doing it.he wasn't, at least I don't think, consciously thinking about post-modernism as it applied to his work. It was or seemed genuine, which most post modernism specifically tries not to be. what I dislike about shows like Girls is the all too knowing references to the codes and tropes of that style.
C'mon Althouse one of the most memorable lines is "I don't believe in Zimmerman" so please a Bob Dylan tag to this entry.
My favorite Dylan song is Alice's Restaurant, which turns out to be Arlo Guthrie.
how could you not believe in twitter. There is irrefutable proof in the existence of Twitter.
I can totally agree with the idea that you don't believe that there is anything redeeming about Twitter. But it still exists.
"I say in the diavlog that I prefer blogging because blogging feels like a plane where you can go."
I meant: a place where you can go.
"Twitter is the place to find breaking news. It's faster than any newswire, and more accurate too."
But mixed in with junk.
I believe in Crystal Light™ cause I believe in me!
Yeah, lots of junk on the Twitter. I don't follow anyone on Twitter that tweets a lot except for the sainted Iowahawk. I do follow Althouse for example.
I didn't realize that Twitter was a religious figure.
I prefer Twitter to both Facebook and blogs. It's a streaming cocktail party where you duck in or out as need be. Good blog posts are excellent to read, but how often do I see those? Half the posts on this blog could be tweets with some editing and concision.
Preach it, Brother Ron.
I think Althouse doesn't believe in Twitter because she's not very good at it.
Twitter is terrible for anything serious or requiring any sophistication. But for cracking inside jokes among friends who all follow each other, it's good enough. I also enjoy the the puppy pictures. You really can't beat Twitter for that.
Pete said...
I think Althouse doesn't believe in Twitter because she's not very good at it.
I second that and I'm a little surprised too because Althouse is a good writer and Twitter presents special fun challenges.
Amba (who was/is very good at tweeting) nailed some of the downsides pretty early on.
As I say in the diavlog, I don't believe Twitter brings traffic to one's own website. As a writing form in itself, I don't think anything there is very good. I choose not to put my work there, mostly because I think it's just lost in an onrush that I don't believe is read in a significant way. I don't try to write there and am not trying to be "good" at it, but I don't believe anyone is doing anything good... not in an intellectual or literary sense. I think some people do some pithy humor or snark, but I can't find anything there that matters to me.
The idea that Twitter is "fun"... I think most of what's going on there is required work, drudgery. It's the style to look like fun. That's awful. It's sad!
Everything Althouse complains about in Twitter could very well be an objection to blogging. That she can't seem to write in a short form is sadder than Twitter, and it's not the first time we've seen her shift blame from her inability to do something to the thing itself.
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