SuzViews

The Truth About Twitter

Twitter just announced/clarified the Terms of Service and Rules that guide their business and service decisions. You can find these in detail on the Twitter blog and Twitter site.  One of the developing issues around twitter is the question of whether it’s for ‘fun’ or for ‘business’ – and sometimes it’s hard to tell!  What can start out as a simple diversion can quickly escalate into a competition for followers, attention, promotion and business.  This is particularly true if your ‘business’ revolves around celebrity and notoriety.  Where does personal distraction for fun cross the line and become part of your public relations strategy?  Anyone on twitter who has had to deal with the spammers and promotion-followers knows what a pain it can be.  Some days, it’s like you’re just streaming commercials for business services and products, rather than sharing information.  For those of us who aren’t after the ‘numbers’ and just want to use the service to keep updated on family and friends, or because we find certain individuals ‘interesting’ to read, the competitive-follower game is just annoying.  But I digress…this is a topic for another post!

It was just a matter of time, I guess, until a couple of our more astute public celebrities decided to make the point about what twitter is becoming, using the style that has historically been used to critique social and political absurdities: comedy.  Check out this YouTube offering by Ben Stiller and Ryan Seacrest:

Twitter Blog: Twitter Sesh#links