Come to the dark side...

[smeddley]

...we have Twitter.

I find myself more and more drawn to Twitter, and it feels... dirty. But the ease of updating from a phone, and the lack of pressure to write anything profound... well, it's a powerful thing. Like this morning - the only things I have to say are that I don't want to be at work and my mini-fridge smells strongly of strawberries. Hardly LJ-post worthy, but an average Tweet. Of course, there are plenty of things you can't Tweet - like my post with the crochet pattern. So I'm not saying I'm abandoning LJ (I just renewed my paid account!), but during the day I see myself reading LJ and Tweeting, then updating/commenting on LJ from home.

I do have one question for y'all about Twitter - when you Tweet, it puts your username first. Do you treat this as the beginning of the sentence or do you look at it as if it were a script and there's an implied colon? Basically, are you a first-person Tweeter or a third-person Tweeter?

Smeddley does not want to be at work today.
vs.
Smeddley: I don't want to be at work today.

Comments

[aeamek.livejournal.com]

Treat it as a colon. Some Twitter programs use your icon only (like my TweetDeck), so it looks funny if you tweet a sentence like, "does not want to be at work today."

Also, thank you for your edits this weekend!

[smeddley.livejournal.com]

Cool, thanks for giving a reasonable explanation! I expected it to be a taste thing, but that makes sense.

You is welcome. Though if I hear about anyone running experiments with fuel cans and fire, I will be ethically bound to report it... after I watch the YouTube video a few dozen times... ;)

[borneaway.livejournal.com]

i have a twitter account i never use.

personally think that first person is more personal and inviting. third person reads like you're not really there.

[smeddley.livejournal.com]

Third person is much more distant, true.

I went a long time without using mine for much of anything, but the trending topics do keep me up to date on news I'd otherwise miss entirely. And some of it I probably would be just fine missing...

[clare-dragonfly.livejournal.com]

Colon/third-person, definitely. Otherwise you're limited to only statements about how you feel and stuff, no questions or information--or it's really awkward if you do.

Also, when I'm reading from Tweetdeck (a popular desktop Twitter app) it looks really bizarre when the icon appears to be what's starting the sentence, since the name is tiny and below the tweet.

[clare-dragonfly.livejournal.com]

Or do I mean first person? I think I mean first person. I'm at work, I can't be expected to understand words today.

[smeddley.livejournal.com]

You do mean first person, yes, but I completely understand about work turning your brain to jello. Mine's a lovely layered black cherry and lime today...

I hadn't really thought about the Tweets other than the 'I am' - even though I've made them - so that's another good point. Sure, you could switch back and forth, but better to be consistant.

[clare-dragonfly.livejournal.com]

Black cherry and lime jello sounds oddly delicious considering I like neither lime nor jello. Though I think I liked lime jello as a kid.

[icecat.livejournal.com]

I might have to do the same and get a twitter account... it seems like it's a good way to stay abreast of news if you subscribe to CNN's feed. *sigh*

[smeddley.livejournal.com]

I find the trending topics a good way to keep up on things, too. Do it! Get one! Come to the Dark (140 character limit) Side!

[http://users.livejournal.com/anam_cara_/]

Here I am feeling guilty for getting a personal Facebook account set up... and finding myself actually using it. And worse, playing a ridiculous amount of games on it...