More Random thoughts about Twitter

If you look at everyone who ‘tweets’ now & again (& I have, a number of times) you will likely find that a  high proportion of users are in the IT biz, & a very high proportion of them are involved in some sort of CMC .People who are involved in Open Source Software are also common – this is hardly surprising, as modern OSS communities are  only possible thanks to CMC.

This suggested to me that Twitter is not a mass market phenomenon – that it only appeals to the kind of people who are either already working in this area or to early adopters  – the kind of people who love the technology for itself, not for what it can actually do.

It confirms that CMC lacks a ‘Killer App’, that is an application that is so useful &/or compelling that people who do not use computers will either learn enough to use it, or be prepared to buy a dedicated device.

However, there are a lot of people out there trying out lots of possibilities – the next generation is evolving online in the fierce competition for the Next Big Thing

The guy from Dimdim who started following me soon after I mentioned that service messaged me to the effect that there was no global conspiracy – he just picked up my tweet.  If he was monitoring all contributions, that is certainly possible. In any case, I apologised both publicly & privately, & resolved to be a little less wary.

I suppose my experience with ‘legacy media’ like TV & telephones, has taught me to be very wary of people who are trying to sell you stuff. However, Dimdim is Open Source – you can use it for free. OK they also offer premium, paid-for products that keep themselves fed, but there is just not the same pressure that created the hard sell. A gentler, friendly approach is not only nicer for me, but more effective for them.

This example shows the power of a network to connect the like-minded, especially a network that is presently focused on such a narrow range of people.

Perhaps there are emergent properties in Twitter – i.e., despite being very simple, it can display complex behaviour. In this case, the exchange of superficially banal messages is effecting introductions between like-minded people who go on to collaborate on more complex projects through other media.