LY #86 More about Tweeting

My friend Stacey Donohue is now at the MLA in Chicago, shivering and tweeting.  I don't tweet, myself, though I recognize the value of that channel of communication.  Stacey says it's a good way to share ideas quickly, keep informed, and keep others informed; that it's useful if one has a cohort.


I feel anxious at the thought of having to share ideas quickly and of "keeping up" with the New and the Now.  I don't want to be "on" 24/7.  That's too much like the journalistic life I left behind at age 23.  And I don't really have a "cohort" with whom I want to be in instant and/or constant communication.  I have perhaps a bit in common with the cat who walked by himself.

I did make an attempt, during November's NCA meeting in Washington (which I did not attend) to find some conference tweeting found little to read.  This is largely a matter of my lack of understanding of how hashtags function but may also have been a shortage of tweets about the actual conference.  I searched for #NCA when I should probably have been searching for hashtags specific to particular individuals or divisions or even panels -- but that seemed like WAY too much work.  I did find a few tweets from individuals excited to be there but nothing that gave me insight into what people thought of the panels they were attending. 

And, frankly, I didn't look that hard.  I'm pretty lazy about performing new and difficult behaviors for which I see no reward.

Painting by Sam Hanson

If my post retirement plans fall into place, however, there will be some rewards for tweeting.  I will need to learn this new communicative behavior in order to market my self-published books.  Self-publishing requires self-promotion.  And all the "experts" today tell us that self-promotion requires social media. learn  So, once I've finished with my first summer project, the edited collection of my Dad's painting of nudes, I'll be reading more advice about self-publishing and then getting that electronic book up at Booksurge,  Createspace, or Lulu.  Dad's memoirs are already available at the latter.  Sadly, in the writings he left behind he said nothing about his post-retirement work as an artist.  I want to fill in that missing piece while leaving behind a little piece of my mind as well.  And that may, indeed, take a few tweets.

LY #24 Two Faces of the Total Surveillance Society

This week I got to view both sides of the total surveillance society.  in episodes of Bones and NCIS.

 I've written about the latter before, most thoughtfully in a paper delivered at a conference of the Pacific Western Division meeting of the Community College Humanities Association.  In that paper I argued that the "family" of workplace friends in NCIS serves to legitimate the team's regular use of the invasive technology. 

Using Twitter to track a low flying plane on NCIS

This week in "Under the Radar" they moved into the Twitterverse as Tim McGee drew on his knowledge of computers by having the fans of a rock band look for a low flying plane.  As with every moment of increased investigatory penetration performed by the good guys, the use of citizens to spy out the bad guys was presented as having no downside, just like all of McGee's warrantless phone tracking.  In the NCIS world, it's all for good.

(I'm wondering also if Twitter sponsored last night's show since the gang sold it like the folks on Bones sell Toyota products.)

On the other hand in Bones we watched the death of computer genius Christopher Pelant, the darkest face of the surveillance genius -- McGee's evil twin.   (But I'm not sure I'll believe he's dead until I hear it from another source or see his body on a slab.)  Pelant was spying on "the team" and killing off various friends in order to get close to Temperance.  While this story seems to play into our fears of surveillance, it locates the source of that fear in a single evil, obsessive genius rather than fixing it onto corporations and government, the real holders of power.  


Both shows want us to be comfortable with our caretakers and watchers being able to find us, wherever we are.  They just use different methods to get us to accept the inevitable.

Last Year # 12: To Tweet or Not to Tweet . . .

Clip art Twitter bird added to movie still of Laurence Olivier as u no who.

So my friend Stacey Donohue uses Twitter.  Yesterday she told me that she tweeted links to some recent postings.  That would explain why I had 70 hits rather than my usual two.  (Well, two is bragging.)

I've thought about Twitter.  Signed up twice.  But don't use it.  Why?

Well, first of all why should I?  Because it's enjoyed by people I like and admire (Stacey, Scott Simon,  the writers and performers at BBC 4's News Quiz)? Should I aspire to be like them?  Maybe.  But I'm not sure I have the same motivation. 

So, to better answer the question posed in the heading, I asked Google why people use Twitter.  I limited my search by typing "site:.edu" and avoided side column ads from Zappos (they keep tracking me around the googlesphere, asking me to finish my purchase).  According to Olivier Toubia, the Glaubinger Professor of Business at Columbia Business School, some people seem to have an "intrinsic motivation" to share themselves, while others are motivated by status-seeking.  Toubia also noted that most people on Twitter tend to follow news rather than do their own news making.  He says that Twitter is becoming a "broadcast source".  According to a paper written by Akshay Java, Tim Finin, Xiaodan Song, and Belle Tseng, people tweet to share and receive information, especially high value information from high value sources, such as business leaders or celebrities.  Tweeting is especially important as a way to get hot news quickly.

And of course, back on the dot com pages, tweeting is highly recommended for businesses, especially by people who make a living from introducing businesses to selling on social media.  (The so-called new Don Drapers.)

But not everyone tweets, though people in the media seem to believe the practice of micro-blogging is universal.  According to West Virginia University senior public relations major Brandi Underwood's teen panel, Facebook is uncool and Twitter is free of adult interference.  And lots of folks of my age and gender don't tweet.  According to a study conducted by the Pew Research Center, fewer than a fifth of women who use the internet use Twitter, although over 70% use Facebook (as I do).  

So now that I've done my research I feel more comfortable with owning my lack of hipness.  Which is great because the bottom line for me on tweeting at this particular stage of life is that it's JUST ONE MORE THING!

JUST ONE MORE THING somebody, somewhere wants me to do -- like buying a smart phone or a car with electronic windows.   And I don't want to do it.

But I can't stop you . . .