Comments on: What sex on the beach has in common with foolish tweeting

By: I closed my Twitter account. « A day in the life of Harvey & Gilmot

I closed my Twitter account. « A day in the life of Harvey & Gilmot — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 10:10:22 +0000

[...] I also started to get this sense of a different world. I found myself believing that a different set of rules applied, that the world of social media was creating something new, a place in which things were done quite differently. And this was beautifully self-reinforcing. I’d find myself mocking the people who ‘don’t get social media’ convincing myself that because there were people I could judge not to get it, that that must mean that there were different rules. (Tim Burrowes at Mumbrella does a lovely job of describing this phenomenon here.) [...]

By: Zac Martin

Zac Martin — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 06:05:06 +0000

I will endeavour to read this post at least once every three months.

By: Jane

Jane — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 03:43:28 +0000

Ooh good post and reminds people about the traps of twitter, especially if the person on twitter is a public figure or a well known person (in certain industries).

I am not a public figure and I love twitter. I especially love reading funny and witty tweets about – tv shows (qanda, insiders, idol), topical issues (bingle anyone?) etc and politicians (Barnyard etc – ok I am a nerd). These make me laugh and sometimes even make my day (I love to laugh). I don’t like malicious and nasty tweets (like “that person deserves to be dead” etc.) – but most people I follow are very funny & witty people so that is not usually a problem.

Normally I hate twitter rules (twitter can be whatever anyone wants it to be – to a certain degree) but I do have a few personal ones –

One – I never engage in twitter fights with anybody (not worth the time especially if the person is someone you don’t know or don’t follow). Unless you are up to that sort of thing and have the time because I have seen some twitter fights that go on and on for ages and nothing gets resolved. If I see a nasty or confrontational tweet from a total stranger (someone I don’t follow) I just ignore it. If someone I follow posts an opinion that I don’t agree with then I don’t confront them I just make sure I post what my opinion is on twitter (doesn’t happen often). I think the people I follow are entitled to express a differing opinion about something once and a while (just as I am).

Two – I don’t read the @ replies button. If I post something and someone I follow replies back at that time then I acknowledge the tweet by replying back. However if I don’t follow them then I don’t care about the @replies – I don’t know them so I don’t read them.

Three – Don’t talk about your work or anyone work related unless it’s very general or generic – Like woo glad that day is over. If you write something about your work it’s out there in cyberspace – also not a good look.

Four – I have the five strike rule – basically if someone I follow posts or does something on twitter that annoys me about 5 times in a row – then I unfollow them. Everyone you follow on twitter will do something at least once to annoy you but it’s when it becomes consistent that you unfollow them – life is too short. But I am good at picking people to follow as I have hardly had to stop following someone – only the occasional annoying celeb.

Five – take the above twitter rules above with a grain of salt – the above is what I feel comfortable with – you might be entirely different. I use twitter mainly for laughs and funny & witty banter about life. Also I like to see what other people get up to and how they are feeling about certain issues. Other people might have entirely different agendas – that is the beauty of twitter – very flexible.

By: Tom Dodson

Tom Dodson — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 02:16:12 +0000

Im on twitter myself… but im beginning to doubt its effectriveness in the area in which I work. the constant spam, the annoying tweets-

“Going to get a bagel!”….

-really? Not something I, or anyone really, would care about…

By: Tom

Tom — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 03:48:42 +0000

“As for all this Twitter stuff… why can’t we just go back to diaries? Just get your ass a diary, write that shit down, lock it up. Put it under your bed.” Wanda Sykes

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:50:52 +0000

Great to see cyber bullies getting some of their own.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 07:53:02 +0000

I actually was bullied via Twitter and it wasn’t a nice experience. I wrote a blog post which some people took offense to, and Twitter was used to marshall the troops for an all out attack… on both Twitter and my blog. It went on for days and was unrelenting. I found out after that I had hit a nerve that had been painful for some time… all I did was vocalise what other people were thinking, but from the flip side of the coin. Someone had an agenda and chose to use my blog/Twitter to vent their spleen. I am a lot more careful about what I post and where (never had an issue until then) and I agree that there really is no freedom of Tweet. I kept the Twitter screen dumps of those who were doing the bullying as JPGs though, just in case!

By: Glen Frost

Glen Frost — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 06:36:07 +0000

Stories of Brits going overseas and not respecting the local laws and culture…. that’s been going on for thousands of years.

By: Justin

Justin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 05:18:56 +0000

Dr Mumbo – appreciate the desire to get in respectable references like Taleb’s Black Swan, but you’re taking literary license to cheeky new heights! Risking jail by breaking a country’s laws is not even close to a Black Swan event (nor is the repercussions of a person sending an ill-advised tweet).Yes, yes, I’m not meant to take it too seriously, but think of the confused readers!

By: Tim - Mumbrella

Tim - Mumbrella — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 04:59:35 +0000

Hi Nehad,

I was indeed there – although I’m not sure you can count it as hiding if I take the mike and ask a question!

Cheers,

Tim – mumbrella

By: NehadK

NehadK — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 04:49:05 +0000

This is one of your better pieces Tim. Well done! Didn’t spot you last night, hiding in the back were you?

By: Tony Wiles

Tony Wiles — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 04:44:33 +0000

Thanks Tim
First time here and worth the read. Might come again when I get a free moment
Cheers

By: Tony Richardson

Tony Richardson — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 03:48:09 +0000

Great piece Tim.

By: Leah Grant

Leah Grant — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 02:48:16 +0000

Excellent insightful reading. Thank you.

By: mumbrella

mumbrella — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 02:38:01 +0000

Thanks, Dave. I’ll take sometimes.

Cheers,

Tim – Mumbrella