This will probably turn out to be a stream-of-consciousness ramble about various things. EDIT: this post is written in a satirical/sarcastic style, so it shouldn’t be taken too, too seriously. OK?
Twitter Lists
This new way of slicing and dicing your Twitter content is the way to listen to the 412,331,310 other Twitter users that you don’t listen to today. Or, rather, you would if you could hear them among the multitudes. They were made from the same substance that went into the last few nails that were hammered into FriendFeed’s coffin. Or something like that.
I have made one list so far, called Brainiacs. Some people on it have complained that they don’t consider themselves to be geniuses, or even very smart. To which I say, “stupid is as stupid does”, or “stupid is as stupid says”. What they don’t realize is that Brainiacs are the ones who have successfully passed through the Broadcasting Brain subliminal brainwashing program. No, I think you’re incredibly smart, witty, and talented, therefore you are.
So, we’ll see. Coming soon to a Web near you: Twitter Lists Lists; Twitter Indexes; Twitter Lists Indexes; Twitter Indexes Lists; and many more permutations of the same with the terms tags, favorites, bookmarks, shortcuts, and stickies added in for good measure. Eventually it will become so complicated that people will create separate Twitter accounts for the ability to make it easier to follow people. And then pop will eat itself.
Nonetheless, Twitter Lists are easy to use. Just remember, it’s not the number of lists that you belong to, nor the size of your List that matters. It’s about how well you use your List. Practice safe Listing, OK? If you show me your List, I’ll show you mine. OK?
Penelope Trunk
Her blog is my new virtual drug. You never know what will show up there and so there’s actually some anticipation for each new post. Kind of like 43folders.com without the anxiety-inducing wait between posts.
It’s like the blog’s written by an alien who is trying to explain how things work on Earth. A suspiciously human-sounding alien, but an alien nonetheless. Fortunately, the alien writes well about interesting topics and only manages to horrify its readers about once twice per month. I think it’s a well-intentioned alien who’s trying to deal with a lot of weird and difficult but occasionally wonderful things in its life. In public.
Politics and public policy
All I’ll say at this point is that anything related to these topics bring out both the best and the worst in people.
RSS Readers
I still use Google Reader faithfully, even if I delete 90% of the posts in the reader without reading them. Uh, wait, did I just say that out loud? In all seriousness, the structure and order behind a RSS feed reader works much better for me than trying to comb through Twitter and the real time Web to catch interesting links before they get swept away. How Web 1.5 of me.
Is the application to beat. It’s the common denominator of Web experience. Virtually everyone is there… even I am.
The problem with trying to build authority
No one should ever try to be 100% serious, earnest, and helpful all of the time. It’s inhuman.
I just lost two hours on Penelope's blog and I'm not sure whether to say thanks or shake my fist.
In any event, you're welcome!
I'm pleased to see your opinion of Facebook, Mark. Twitter may get the big press – especially among the technocrats – but Facebook seems like it both appeals to more people, and provides a better arena for discussion. Facebook's drawbacks are more in the way it's managed (the controvesries over privacy, monetization, etc.) than in its fundamental nature.
I keep meaning to write an entry about Twitter vs. Facebook, but it never seems to bubble up to the top things I want to write about.
I'm pleased to see your opinion of Facebook, Mark. Although Twitter seems to get more buzz, I think Facebook both appeals to a broader range of people, and is a better forum for discussion. Facebook's drawbacks (the controversy over privacy, monetization, etc.) are more due to how it's managed, not its fundamental nature.
I keep meaning to write an entry on Twitter vs. Facebook, but it never seems to bubble up to the top of my list.
Whoops, I got some sort of error the first time I commented, and it looked like my comment hadn't gone through. Feel free to delete this older comment (and this response!
Twitter is very good at doing a simple thing; Facebook is more like a portal to other things.
I read all my Reader feeds, but you can see how late that makes me.
Hello from the future!
Did you have to drive at 88 to get here?
No, you were the one driving at 88. I kind of lazed around until the present was the past.
Funny how time-travel works!