Problem with Twitter

I tweeted Eddie Izzard today. He won't respond but I sent my two cents anyway because my love of Eddie Izzard is greater than my good sense. I giggled to think that my name would flash across EI's iPhone.

So yes, I love being able to eavesdrop on the thoughts of faves like Eddie Izzard and Tina Fey. Yes, it's amazing to see how many creative people there are in my circle and watch the evolution of their projects. And yes, I love the ability Twitter gives me to share interesting articles and pick through articles posted by friends.

But I'm still not convinced that Twitter deserves that much of my attention. Not only I am not interesting enough to generate enough content for such a medium, but I find that most people on Twitter are not worth following either. Beliefs that were confirmed when I read this article by J. Peder Zane. He brought up two points that I'd like you to mull over.

We are self-absorbed and we like to be in control. Twitter satisfies both impulses.

Direct interaction is unpredictable. One of the joys and tribulations of conversation is the pressure of real-time give and take. Text messaging relieves that anxiety. We process the material on our schedule -- say what we want, when we want. Or don't say anything at all. Instead of forcing us to be our warts-and-all selves it allows us, at least in theory, to control the face we show the world.

The thing is, I follow those I follow because I respect what they do and they keep up my interest with good content. They're genuine. But you all know people who use their Twitter account to self-aggrandize, over-promote and overexaggerate their achievements with gratuitous content.

And that's what the blessed "Block" button is for.

So I continue to flirt with Twitter, but I don't think it's ever going to get serious. For who I am, for where I'm going, only recreational use makes sense.