I may not be using Twitter right of course, so I may have to do some more research on that area of it all and see what happens!

Love your blog by the way, cheers!

The “twitter deep” stuff often feels like two (or three or four) people who stop outside your cubicle to talk about something — forming a virtual conference room. It’s great for the “conferees,” but less so for someone who’s not in the party. And the conversation (or, more likely, parts of it) appears in the stream of people who follow any participant.

Each to his own, of course, but it’s good to remember (whether in Twitter or in the actual hallway) that your conversation feel to others like you’re tossing Lego bricks at them.

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You make some valid points. I think the issue here is the level or intensity of the discussion. There are many debates that can work fine but I’ve found too many that leave me unsatisfied and wanted an opportunity to hash out in a more suitable forum.
But as you say John,

…creates the common area where the discussions can start.

And I also like Linday’s quote,

Why do we have to be perfect at it, right now?

For some I think the conversations do just die on Twitter, but often I think it inspires and gives passion to those affected. I’m sure many blog posts are created from these experiences and inspires others to dig deeper. I don’t believe that Twitter cheapens the discussion any, but creates the common area where the discussions can start.

Thanks for the post!

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Twitter can spark great conversation, and sometimes that conversation needs to be taken elsewhere. Time, I think, will push us consistently taking that next step instead of letting the conversation die. It’s new for many lay-folk and all new things take time. Why do we have to be perfect at it, right now?

Good post. I agree with Ben G. — sometimes a service like Twitter is the only immediate way to spark a conversation that’s open to a wider audience than just the crowd of regulars who frequents a given blog. The wide-range of people using Twitter enables a broader conversation with more diverse voices contributing their thoughts.

As far as the 140 character count goes–that constraint would come in really handy in real life, especially at meetings or presentations where certain folks have a tendency to run long

Chris

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I do, however feel that i need to go deeper, but could not identify that until I read this post. I am going to start blogging finally, so I can share as well as read.

I am sorry that I can’t make that elluminate session tomorrow.

Thanks for a good post!

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I still don’t have a problem with “deep,” but we definitely agree that one size does not fit all. Great post, Dean.

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I do understand your point about “Twitter Deep” but find it an interesting and fun exercise to condense my usual loquaciousness and verbosity into 140 characters.

John Schinker made mention of your same observations about Twitter in a recent Taste of Tech post. He references “learning to properly use” Twitter and talks about when Twitter can (and can’t) be useful. http://staff.bbhcsd.org/schinkerj/archives/2008/12/31/the-year-that-was/

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I like what you said about eventually people need to “get a room.” I’ve had several occasions where I wished the discussion could have moved from Twitter and transferred to Skype or Elluminate or whatever the tool to allow for more open discussion. Too often that doesn’t happen. So while I will disagree with you about these conversations not having a place on Twitter or the equivalent, I do agree with the idea that people should be more open to engage beyond when the discussion becomes ripe for dynamic dialogue. I also think it’s important to recognize that often it is because of a microblog that these conversations take place on as large a scale as they do. I know for myself, if it weren’t for Twitter, I likely never would have come to know who Dean Shareski is or the thought provoking conversations that take place here in this space.

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I suppose the real clarification needs to be around the term “deep”. I have had a few occasions where a short back and forth exchange on twitter is helpful and I suppose people can lurk and gain some insights. I guess I wrote this because I’ve just seen too many really important conversations go sour and certainly become frustrating as people try to cram their ideas in a space that’s just too restrictive.

You mention taking things to twitter because of numbers. I agree that in some cases that’s of benefit. If you’re doing a quick poll, want some suggestions and so forth. The kind of conversations I’m talking about require more depth and are often laden with controversy.

In that respect, you make my point that one size does not fit all. I hope I don’t discourage folks from engaging but hopefully do the opposite. I wonder how many don’t chime in because they know they can’t articulate their ideas in 140 characters and so they simply observe? That’s not necessarily a bad thing but people new to social media need to know they are other ways to engage and resolve the restrictive nature of any tool. Small pieces loosely joined.

There is nothing that beats Twitter for igniting the dialogue, but there has to be a more productive venue for taking the conversation to other levels. As always, thanks for stretching my thinking! Happy New Year!

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Although I think I can confidently say that it is not your intent, I fear that posts like this will discourage people who may not otherwise engage.

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