I haven’t been posting here of late mostly because I’ve been in a general funk, but I’ve been twittering like crazy, and carrying on a bit in social networking sites, especially facebook, but also myspace, which has got me thinking about networks and networking and communication and mobility. Here’s why twitter and not blogging: Twitter works because it is everywhere. I can post from my phone, IM, the web, almost anywhere, and I can receive tweets on my phone. The customizability of the app allows me to catch tweets via txt for select users, which I use for people who are local and other interesting people, provided their volume isn’t too high. This is also why I think Facebook works better than Myspace. When someone sends me a message, I get the entire message in email or via txt (again, depending on the person), instead of just a message that says I have a message, as Myspace does. I also get status updates for select people via txt (well, only for one person right now, but, again, it’s customizable). It is the movement from web browser to phone or im or whatever else you want that makes these applications so much more flexible and useful. I still use my web browser for lots of stuff, but it’s nice to be liberated from it for those things that actually help me connect with people.
On another note, I have worried in the past how blogging would affect my other writing. Blogging for me is shorter and more top-of-mind than academic or other writing, and twitter takes that to another level, with its built-in 120 character limit. I do think twitter has eaten into my blogging, but I’m still writing otherwise, just not as visibly.
