So yesterday and today I ran the company’s twitter feed. It basically involves choosing recent articles that we think our Twitter followers might be interested in, and then posting a teaser line with a shortened link to the article. The two guys who usually do it are really good, but you can view my meager attempts at http://www.twitter.com/themotleyfool. Everything before June 24 is their handiwork :^)
I was really nervous the first day about not being clever enough or possibly tweeting something inappropriate. But I’d always been afraid of being creative on a deadline, so this was a nice (albeit not-too-stressful) challenge.
This is one of a few recent events that’s changed my mind about Twitter. I realize now that Twitter is just a tool, and that all the annoying narcissism it inspires doesn’t negate the valuable uses. I was moved by all the on-the-ground twittering from Iran in these past weeks, but a more personal use for twitter occurred when my friend got hit by a car. He was able to tweet from the accident and while in the hospital to give everyone updates on his hospital room #, the time of his surgery, how he was feeling, etc.
This epiphany of mine is kind of a no-brainer, I admit. But as I get older I find myself less enamored with new technology unless it enriches my daily life in some obvious, immediate, user-friendly way. The result is that I wait until things have reached the mainstream. I will never again be an early adopter! Is that sad? Or just prudent?
Are you guys the same way in respect to embracing new technologies?
Late to the Game
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6 comments:
I have often been curious about who are the people behind the corporate twitter accounts. I think it is really cool that you had the opportunity to be in that position.
As for Twitter and other new technologies, I am not someone on the bleeding edge, but I am generally an early adopter. The only thing that usually stops me is practicality. I generally will not jump onto a new technology if I can't see how I will make it fit for what I am doing.
Twitter for example, poses two problems for me... 1. I don't have an unlimited text plan, so I am reluctant to open myself to a potential cost. 2. I suffer from an inability to generate meaningful content on a regular basis. That is actually why I have a blog on Tumblr (jchiappa.tumblr.com). It is a super easy way to make mini posts instead of a whole blog entries so it feels manageable.
Overall, I think it is great that you have come to understand twitter as a tool. Putting on my Instructional Technology hat, I usually look at new technologies through the lens that there is probably some intended or unintended educational use and I want to try ti figure out what it is. This is why I like reading web sites like TechCrunch as they take the time to uncover the technology and then I can focus on what about it will be important to me.
Conversely, I think my wife is a quasi early adopter. She talks a good game about not wanting the new technology or how she misses the old technology, but as soon as she has it and gets comfortable, she loves it.
Keith, you come at technology from a different angle than I do, so what is your take?
I generally adopt new technology when the porn industry does.
Quite profound. That would actually make you an early adopter since most of the Internet was built on porn related technology.
Ironically, I've had a couple drinks so it's time to be serious.
I think I have really become an old man when it comes to technology. I'll see some annoying example of something and totally write it off, and then only later once everyone and his mother is on board, then I'll actually join in. Facebook is a great example. Took me a really long time to get on there, mostly because I saw Vicky's "wall" way back when and it was full of crazy pokes and super-pokes and all manner of malarkey. I said to myself, grumble grumble this is not for me. It wasn't until over a year later that I was able to fully appreciate its ability to help me procrastinate at work.
Somewhat fittingly, I have just moved onto Windows Vista, just as Microsoft is preparing to move onto a new OS. :)
Also, Joe, it's interesting that you single me out as someone coming from a different angle when it comes to technology. I'm actually really not. Programmers don't necessarily adopt new technology any more than anyone else; in fact it seems like they often poo-poo new techno-fads as something to distrust. They deal with serious technology, you understand, and Twitter is certainly not that. :) In all honesty, I think age has more to do with it than anything else. The younger people (21-25) in my office are way more up on the latest technology (iPhone, Twitter, Facebook, etc.) than the older set (yes I am part of that group).
So, what you're saying, Keith, is that you're waiting for the world's first pornographic twitter feed? (Having thought about that for a minute, I'm guessing it probably already exists!)
It's true about the age difference. I read in this book Here Comes Everybody that the younger folk make the mistake of believing that every new fad will last forever, while older folk are skeptical of new technologies and thus miss out on the potential gains of getting in early. The key (sez said book) is finding a balance in between.
The question is: Do we, as older folk, really need to be early adopters? Does it affect our lives if we're not on the bleeding edge of the tech world? (And I admit that my answer may be different that the answers of a programmer and a technology instructor :^)
Keith- to clarify, I believe you do come from a different angle in that you are tech savvy, even if you have the same outlook towards new technology as someone who may not be as comfortable around technology in general.
Overall, I do agree that there is an age gap when it comes to tech fluency, however I would not say that we are old by any stretch in this regard... it just depends on the group you are with. For example, people younger than us are considered digital natives, people who grew up using technology. Older folks are digital immigrants, i.e. people who did not grow up with technology and are learning it like a new language. We are the gray area since people are age may have been first exposed when we were quite young, but for some it may have come as late as college age. What is even more significant is that with our group there isn't a wholesale expectation that we will be tech fluent, but it certainly is beneficial if we are.
Going back to Audrey's final note, nobody needs to be early adopters, however I do think our age group needs to be represented as it will be the early adopters who help shape the new technology so that people like Keith will eventually be happy with it when it becomes mainstream. I think a major reason technology misses the older crowd is because they are not in touch with what the technology is trying to do. Yes, twitter seems like fun, but I don't want to tell the world when I am going t the restroom. I do however want to tell everyone I didn't die on the Metro the other day. We need more people to either be early adopters or work with them to help shape the message. I think you may really appreciate The Tipping Point, by Malcolm Gladwell, which is mostly about how new ideas become mainstream.
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