Early in February I ran my first one hour training session for our temps (which I touched on here), entitled "emergent web2ools: an introduction to twitter". The session aimed to aid delegates in forming an effective strategy for using Twitter such that it add value to their daily information digest through networking with and following the right people, should they choose to register.
Much to my delight, not one of the nine delegates (with the exception of one whom had merely registered on the service) had ever used Twitter. All had decided to attend in order to gain some understanding of what the tool actually is and what it can do. It was left up to them to decide whether Twitter would be worth their while or not (although my tone was positively biased towards Twitter throughout, it must be said!)
We began with a brief introduction to the concept of web 2.0 in general and microblogging more specifically. I then split the delegates into two groups: those whom viewed Twitter as a positive phenomenon and those whom viewed it negatively. Those whom viewed it negatively were given 10 minutes to brainstorm all of their positive thoughts on the application both in a personal and professional context (and vice-versa). I subsequently sought to clarify each point individually in a group discussion afterwards. There was not enough time to discuss many suggestions put forward by the two groups, so I have attempted to give some further food for thought here.
Here's what they came up with:
Negative thoughts
- A time consuming distraction
It can be, although I would say that this is largely subjective to each individual.
- Another forum for slander and libel
And indeed it has been.
- Anathama to KM
Moreso with information security/governance; perhaps the opposite as far as knowledge management is concerned.
- Authenticity of claims/information posted
It would therefore be advisable to cross reference important information for veracity.
- Can't disentangle
From your network: You can, in fact, remove people from your network and block them. Additionally, you can slock your account and allow only select individuals to follow your updates.
- Censorship
Lack thereof: that anyone can say anything. A bad thing?
- Copyright infringement
It is difficult to imagine Twitter in itself to be a vehicle for this, though it could certainly be used as a tool to promote unscrupulous materials.
- Encourages exhibitionism
Can certainly do, but there is no compulsion to follow exhibitionists.
- Exclusion
Supposing that the service becomes 'a must', it will never have unviersal usage and thus those whom do not use it will be excluded. (Perhaps another reason to subscribe, I thought!)
- False identity/anonymity
There have been instances reported in the media of individuals passing their Twitter accounts off as those of celebrities and even organisations such as the BBC have suffered from this.
- Hotel California
Addiction to the service (I personally know of at least one case!), though, as a user I can't ever seeing myself lost without it.
- Inability to retract thoughts
You can delete your comments, however, you can't erase them from the minds of those who've already read them.
- Lack of privacy
That would wholly depend on whether or not one posts private information. Thinking about what one writes before posting it would thus be advisable.
- Not knowing audience
Same as above.
- Overwhelming (information overload)
This can be a problem, but there are an increasing number of applications which can aggregate and consolidate your presence on the various social networking media, amongst other things, such as iGoogle and NetVibes. You can use these to install applet interfaces for your favourite web applications (such as Del.icio.us, Twitter, Facebook and google reader amongst many others).
Positive thoughts
- Individuals free to express opinions/open and democratic
This is certainly true, though there can be added challenges and risks with such freedom - especially from a coporate perspective with employees' use of the application at work or at home.
- Cuts through usual visual communication channels and can efficiently reach a niche audience.
Exploiting the 'long tail'.
- Once you have your followers (captive audience, related to the above)
This was posited from a corproate perspective, for example brand names can very cheaply disseminate marketing blurbs (e.g. @MSWindows).
- Not agenda driven
Meaning that individuals are not confined to any one agenda in this postings.
When considering the above, it is worth remembering that the delegates had experienced no direct interaction with Twitter, at the time of the workshop. With that said, I found the depthof their discussion quite impressive. I can't however help but notice how heavily the negatives outweighed the positives, perhaps a reflection on the type of coverage that Twitter receives in the media? What are your thoughts?
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