Is Twitter just a useless, brain-sucking fad? I know a lot of people have had criticisms of Twitter’s microblogging platform and how valuable it is (or isn’t) to your productivity and online profile.
Heck, I had big issues with it myself! Why in the heck would you want to limit your conversations to 140 characters? What a dumb gimmick, right? But after a few days of using Twitter and getting to know its unique community, I’ve learned some lessons that should be applied to the social lives of all the Cooler People out there.
The art of conversation is dead. Don’t believe me? Go to a bank. Or a DMV. Or a supermarket. While there are exceptions, Cooler People – particularly the younger ones – have decided that it’s more important to be miserable than to connect with other human beings. If they spent a few days on Twitter, they might learn something, such as:
Everybody knows the really social guy that talks at great length about the little details of his life, right? I’ve got a few of those in my family. While it’s great to share your own experiences, the fact is, nobody wants to listen to you drone on and on about anything. Got an opinion about our current President? Hey, so do I! But let’s just state it and move on. Some jerk treated you poorly at work? That sucks. Complaining to me for ten minutes about it won’t solve anything.
I’m afraid that I get caught in this trap too. As much as I want to dispense advice here, I have to be honest with my own shortcomings. I work alone, I live alone, and my two cats just don’t care about how my day went. So once I get going, I start rambling and I have to catch myself. Just ask my girlfriend.
Twitter forces you to get to the point. Don’t dance around it, don’t use more words (or characters, in this case) than you have to. Just say it and move on.
- Give the other person a chance to speak their opinion.
It really doesn’t matter what your political leanings are. Everybody has trouble dealing with conflicting opinions.
Case in point: Perez Hilton, for some reason, was on the panel for the Miss America pageant. Apparently writing “LOL” on celebrity pictures and accusing the world of being gay makes you an authority on beauty and grace. Anyway, he asked Miss California about her thoughts on gay marriage, and she responded that she believed that marriage should be between a man and a woman, but that the great thing about America is that everybody can have their own opinion. A visibly upset Perez sat there in silence while a good portion of the crowd cheered her answer. Perez then posted a video on his site launching a vulgar, personal attack on Miss California as if she ran over his dog with a lawnmower while firing at him with a shotgun.
See, the Cooler People of the world talk about “tolerance” and how everyone should accept everyone – but they flip out when someone expresses their own opinion about a subject.
Now, back to Twitter: to make the most out of Twitter, you need to build relationships with people. That means you need to let them respond and say what they want to say. It’s extremely valuable to have that “back-and-forth” exchange in order to build a rapport with somebody else. In the real world, that kind of dialogue is invaluable to intelligent, peaceful conversation.
And isn’t that what the world is craving right now?
You learned it in the sandbox at an early age, right? If you’ve got a cool new toy, it’s only decent that you let other people get in on the fun too. Everybody likes you for being generous, and you make some friends who, in theory, will share right back with you.
If you look at any article detailing how to make the most out of Twitter, they say you need to share links with people and create value. Well, how about letting that spill over into the real world? If you read a good article, share it with a friend. Got a cool new movie? Invite somebody over to enjoy it together. If your friend is having some trouble with their life, offer to give them a helping hand.
I am completely on board with people who enjoy spending quality time with themselves, but you don’t have to hoard everything that’s fun. Share it with others. Especially if you think it will help them. That’s one of the best things about great relationships.
What do you think is missing from the relationships of today? Do you agree or disagree with the points here? Do you think everybody is doing just fine? Drop me a note in the comments!
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