The Continuum of Online Communication
by DanHow do you know what method of online conversation is appropriate for the message you want to send? I’ve seen some oddly personal, individual conversations happen on Twitter and I always find that jarring.
Twitter, like podcasts and IM status messages, is very dictatorial. It’s meant as a broadcast, not as a conversation. The communication is meant to be listened to or seen, not necessarily to be responded to. On the other side of the continuum is instant messaging and Skype, which are back-and-forth mediums and not so much about status, but more about conversation.
In the middle of the continuum are blogs, email, and social networking services like MySpace and Facebook, which allow for both types of communication. They aren’t as good as IM at conversations, nor as good as Twitter at broadcasting status, but are hybrids in between, useful for when you need explanation. It’s no coincidence that the messages on either end of the continuum are short, while those in the center are for longer communication — it is when you want to broadcast a message that is more than status, but less than a conversation.
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May 21st, 2007 at 10:58 am
Twitter is the “away message” feature from AIM, but brought into a browser. That is how I would define it in simplest form.
May 21st, 2007 at 7:08 pm
I always thought of Twitter as intertwingled .plan files on a cell phone, but yeah, they all pretty much sit at the dictational end of the spectrum.
May 23rd, 2007 at 4:23 am
I think you’re leaving out part of the equation if you don’t take into account what’s happening on the receiver side.
What makes twitter different from IM away messages is most away messages are discovered at the time someone wishes to contact the away message holder.
On twitter, there’s a constant interwoven narrative. It’s more like a personal radio drama, as each character adds themselves into the story line through their short bursts.
That’s my take on it. — Jared
May 23rd, 2007 at 8:13 am
It’s IM status messages, not only away messages. (Is this a Mac thing? I know a lot of PC AIM clients don’t let users see status messages when active.) I see people updating their status messages several times a day. It is especially huge for teens.
I think Twitter can be used in a “radio play” fashion, but it’s not really designed that way. Especially considering that unless it is a closed loop, you stand a good chance of some people only hearing one side of a conversation, because you may not have both participants in common.
May 25th, 2007 at 4:17 pm
I get it, but is there any reason that adding commenting ability would be BAD for twitter?? I think I’m losing interest because it’s so one way and there’s no way to get or send feedback.
It probably would be less one way if I were actually in college or something where someone could read the message and come meet me, which would be a kind of feedback, (when I was in college, I’d leave away msgs saying where I’d be throughout the day so that people could find me — in person), but as it stands, it’s kind of lonely.
May 31st, 2007 at 10:33 am
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