Archive → May 31st, 2008
Twitter Troubles (Worth It)
As many of you have found, Twitter has been having problems with instant messaging (IM), and paginations. I have been frustrated with these issues myself but I hope they will be back up full time soon. Their service has become so cool that there are literally thousands of new people signing up each day. There are stories all over the Internet about their problems but this is more proof of the popularity of their service.
Although I have been frustrated myself, I also am willing to give them some time to fix the issues because they are so unique. There are times when I am in a meeting and I can quietly follow people’s conversations. I like the fact that I can post a message that I am doing something and my friends and family can follow what I am doing on my page. I have run across people that think it is a worthless application while I have come across those that are addicted like myself. I use Twitter every day when I am out and about. The very cause of their problems are a result of their popularity. One thing that may help to fix it would be to limit the number of people you can have as contacts. I know some people that have more than 20,000 contacts. Clearly those people are not all friends. It may help to limit the number that can be sent via SMS but not limith the number of people that you have as contacts.
It is nice being able to have contacts with people that are connected with a certain type of industry but just limit their SMS capability. Examples of this would be to be connected with Robert Scoble, Leo Laporte, etc. because they have connections in the computer industry. I follow them for this very reason. It is not that I know them or even agree with them on some things but it is nice to be able to know when new technology related startup companies are around. This is how we keep up with new things. In a similar way, if you were interested in other hobbies, you could follow the people that are involved in that industry keeping you abreast of the newest things in that industry.
I personally cannot express how valuable Twitter can be if done correctly. On the surface, it seems like a cool little toy but it has become a big part of our lives here. When I was at the Lake last weekend with no Internet in sight. I heard from a friend 500 miles away via SMS that they had seen a video of a tornado happening right then in my own state. I would not have known anything about this being at the lake. I love the fact that I can notify 100 people of something as soon as it happens via an SMS message and then the news spreads exponentially. I even read a story about a guy Twittering a message that he had been arrested in Egypt and this resulted in the authorities in our country getting him released. Because of this, I would suggest that people have some patience with Twitter and understand that the very problems they have been having are due to their popularity.
I will give them some time because this is a worthy cause. Some of my friends refuse to use Twitter but they will use Facebook. When I update Twitter, it updates my Facebook status thanks to a Twitter plugin that is in Facebook. I would encourage everyone to take a breath and have some patience with Twitter and understand the value. As the owner said yesterday in an interview with Robert Scoble The fact that people are getting angry is a testament of the value they have created.
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Tags: Twitter, tech, technology, Scoble, Robert Scoble, troubles, tweets, SMS