May 12, 2008

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Musings on Twitter

After a year of defiance, I now meekly serve the 140-character box. And I just ran across the smartest take I’ve yet seen on what makes Twitter different, and good/bad, from ROFLconspirator Diana Kimball:

Okay, finally: I think what’s so striking about this social signaling in Twitter is that it’s imbued with intentionality. On Facebook, when you do something or friend someone or post on someone’s wall, Facebook just reports it; the “hey, look at me” is automated. Therefore, the person who wants to be looked at is absolved of responsibility, vanity, or attention-seeking. Twitter is all about self-reporting, and so that all-important illusion of absolution is whisked away.

Mostly, of course, I just like the phrase “all-important illusion of absolution.” So good.