How and why I Twitter: Part 3

By kate on December 4th, 2007

Now, to the mechanics of it all. I mentioned using Facebook as well as Twitter. I also access them from my Blackberry (cell phone) as well as my computer. I’m the sort of lazy person who will go to a lot of effort up front to make things easier for myself down the line. I wanted to make it so that I could read and write status updates in only one service. And that’s how it works – very simple and efficient. Along the way, the setup got kind of complicated, though. Here’s how it looks (click for a larger version):

Basically, I enter twitters using my computer or Blackberry. They are then automatically synchronized with my Facebook status as well as sent to my blog sidebar (so that my friends can use their method of choice to keep up with me). Going the other direction, I get twitters from my Twitter friends on Twitter, obviously. I get my Facebook friends’ statuses by piping them into a new Twitter user I created, who I “follow” with Twitter, which puts the Facebook people right in the same list as everyone else. (This Twitter user is private and locked, so I’m not exposing anything publicly.)

I know it looks like spaghetti, but I diagrammed it in case anyone else is interested in setting it up the same way. If you’d like more information, leave a comment with your question. Here are links to the intermediate services I currently use:

Twitbin Firefox sidebar (update May ’08: I now use twhirl)
TinyTwitter mobile application
Twitter’s blog badge wizard
TwitterSync Facebook application
TwitterFeed automatic Twitter updater, using the RSS feed from Facebook

I’d like to conclude with a little advice if you’re considering trying out Twitter. I acknowledge that there are tens of thousands of boring twitters out there. But you don’t have to follow anyone who bores you – keep those banal “cleaning my room” and “picking my nose” people off your list and follow only interesting folks.

And don’t forget to be interesting yourself. Don’t twitter just for the sake of twittering – pause and be sure you have something to say. Remember you are broadcasting to a group. Find some witty twitterers among your friends and use them as role models (I don’t necessarily recommend myself). For example, I aspire to be as intriguing and observant as robby1066.

Over the past three blog posts, I have written the equivalent of more than 53 twitters on the subject of Twitter. As much as I enjoy twittering, I certainly believe there is still a place for long-format blog entries in the digital world.

UPDATE: Ariel has an interesting take on why she uses Twitter. I certainly share her frustration about friends who don’t twitter.

Filed under: meta, relationships, technology | 1 Comment »

How and why I Twitter: part 2

By kate on December 3rd, 2007

I’d like to try to explain, to those of you who don’t twitter, why it is so engaging.

I can look down the list of recent twitters and quickly absorb what everyone is saying (because twitters are so short). It is a very efficient way to keep up with a large number of people. When I check Twitter, I feel like I am laying my hands on the humming, vibrating threads of my network. I can palpably feel the buzz and my connection with everyone.

Imagine a conversation you might have if you ran into someone you used to work with. It would most likely cover very general subjects and vague feelings. Even if you like the person a lot, there is too much ground to cover to make for a meaningful conversation. On the other hand, when I run into my former colleagues (the ones who are on Twitter or Facebook), instead of blandly asking, “how are you?” I can ask, “did you ever get your scooter fixed?” or “how’s Timmy’s wrist?” or “tell me more about that new restaurant you tried last week.”

Paradoxically, it seems that it is the minutiae of life, the day-to-day details, that allow you to get to know someone better. They build up, one mundane detail at a time, into a multi-dimensional picture of someone that can’t be built any other way. Even if you don’t get the full picture from a twitter, you can see if someone is feeling up or down. (For example, if someone was dumped, they might just say “I’m bummed” or “having a tough night.”) You can twitter back to offer encouragement, commiseration, information, or celebration. If you feel so inclined, you can contact them in a longer format (email, phone call, etc.) to discuss something in more depth.

I also love the broadcast aspect of Twitter. For example, I can quickly send out a request for information to my network of friends. Once I had forgotten a word and it was driving me nuts, so I twittered, “what is the name of the area in a department store between the first set of doors and the second set of doors?” It wasn’t long before one of my friends reminded me it was called the vestibule.

Many times, Twitter is the first place I’ll hear about breaking news. I read the newspaper once a day, and keep up with a bunch of blogs when I can, but I check Twitter all day long, when I’m home and when I’m out, because it’s so fast to read.

It is possible to follow any number of celebrities (especially the internet ones) on Twitter, as well as non–human twitterers and other distractions, but just like the blogs I read, I generally keep it to the people I know in person. That’s partially because I don’t have a lot of time, but mainly because I use Twitter and blogs to enhance my personal relationships, the ones that exist outside of the computer as well as within. As a stay-at-home parent, nurturing my network is extra important because I don’t see people as often. And Twitter is an invaluable tool for enriching my friendships.

Check back tomorrow for some technical details about how I’ve made everything work for me.

Filed under: meta, relationships, technology | 1 Comment »

How and why I Twitter: part 1

By kate on December 2nd, 2007

I resisted Twitter for a long time because I couldn’t understand the appeal. It was only after I sort of backed into it that I fell in love. This is the three-part story of how that happened, why I love it, and some of the behind-the-scenes mechanics of how I configured it all.

It started with Facebook. When my previous employer launched a partnership with Facebook, I and everyone else in the company jumped into Facebook to see what all the fuss was about. This gave me an instantly large network of friends there, and that made Facebook stick. I enjoyed checking the news feed to see what everyone was doing, and who they were befriending. Eventually, I realized that my favorite part of Facebook is the status updates. If you’re not familiar with Facebook, the status update is a short field that you can edit that begins with your name (for example, “Kate is looking forward to soccer tonight”). It’s not just used literally for announcing your status, but for any short message you’d like to convey.

Then a few of my former colleagues became disenchanted with Facebook and began using Twitter instead. (Twitter is a website based around sharing only such short status updates.) I realized I also had some non-Facebook friends who had been Twittering all along. So, I began using Twitter as well to interact with those people. At first, I used Facebook as an entry point, but Twitter slowly won me over. Now, I read and write status updates through Twitter and they get sent to Facebook automatically (more on the details of that later).

Twitters and Facebook status updates are almost the same thing. But Twitter offers the ability to directly respond to someone else, either publicly or privately. And that simple extra feature is enough to make me prefer Twitter.

At first, I tried to update my status (in Facebook) once a day so it wouldn’t seem stale. Once I got in the habit of updating, I updated probably 2-3 times per day on average. After moving to Twitter, my frequency picked up a bit because I’d sometimes respond to other twitters as well as posting my own. Now that I’m fully addicted, I’m still not broadcasting everything. I range from 3-5 twitters on most days, less when I’m sitting around the house, and more when I’m out and about.

Checking Twitter is another story. I probably do that at least four times an hour. Why? Come back tomorrow for part 2 of this series.

Filed under: meta, relationships, technology | 1 Comment »

The mindset that makes smart kids fail

By kate on December 1st, 2007

I just read this fascinating article (long, but worthwhile) about what makes smart kids successful and what doesn’t:

The Secret to Raising Smart Kids
Hint: Don’t tell your kids that they are. More than three decades of research shows that a focus on effort�-�not on intelligence or ability�-�is key to success in school and in life.

The results of the research really ring true for me. I was a smart kid, and for a long time was able to skate easily by on my intelligence. I was much slower to learn the value of hard work and effort (when it comes to mental challenges). Even through college, I was able to complete most of my coursework successfully without really breaking a sweat, so it was a hard trap to get out of. It wasn’t until I entered the work force that I began learning this life lesson. I would have been much better off had I learned it as a kid.

I’m planning to apply this idea to raising Ruby, and hopefully I can keep her out of the “fixed mind-set” that I fell into.

Filed under: learning | 2 Comments »

Accordions rock

By kate on November 23rd, 2007

I was recently having a conversation with a friend, who insisted he had never heard any good accordion music. I was shocked and spent a recent afternoon throwing together a mix CD. Here is the track listing:

Mission to an Alien Planet�~�Awesome
Home for a Rest�~�Spirit of the West
The Old Black Rum� ~ �Great Big Sea
The Mariner’s Revenge� ~ �The Decemberists
Sons and Daughters� ~ �The Decemberists
Over the Rails� ~ �Circus Contraption Band
Hot Coals� ~ �Circus Contraption Band
Alligator Stomp� ~ �Clifton Chenier
Particle Man� ~ �They Might Be Giants
Neighborhood #2 (Laika)� ~ �The Arcade Fire
Jesus Doesn’t Want Me For A Sunbeam� ~ �Nirvana
Lucky Ball & Chain� ~ They Might Be Giants
Don Loope� ~ Nortec Collective
‘Cause Cheap Is How I Feel� ~ �Cowboy Junkies
If I Had A Million Dollars� ~ �Barenaked Ladies
And If Venice Is Sinking�~ �Spirit of the West

Filed under: music | 1 Comment »

The marriage lasted longer than the ring

By kate on November 21st, 2007

Steve and I have been married about five and a half years. In that time, our relationship has gotten better and stronger. Unfortunately, I can no longer say the same about my wedding ring!

What you see above is the condition of my wedding ring as of this morning, when I noticed an entire chunk was missing. This was on top of the three (of eight) diamonds that had fallen out in the past month. The ring is made of platinum, supposedly one of the strongest precious metals, so I’m not sure what to think.

My wedding ring, of course, has great sentimental value for me. We designed them together and have matching ones. I have never taken it off except when absolutely necessary (during pregnancy). For it to suddenly disintegrate feels very strange and impossible.

I’m angry enough to say that we got our rings custom-made from Britton Jewelry in Vancouver. They have not yet had a chance to respond, although I certainly will be paying them a visit the next time we go north.

In the meantime, I’m wearing my engagement ring instead, a beautiful ring designed by Steve. Regrettably, it was made by the same jeweler. I’m hoping that it doesn’t have the same structural flaws.