Twitter or blog?
March 19, 2008 //
I’ve decided to blog more often about the things I discuss on Twitter. I’ll continue to use Twitter in the same way I do now, but I feel that I’m not communicating enough with most of my social network.
What’s my social network?
In short, it’s you and the other people with whom I’m connected. We are connected by the very fact that you’re interested in what I have to say. By the same token, I’m interested in what you have to say, hence why I converse with everyone who’s kind enough to spend time to leave a comment.
My social network is made up of people. Within that network I have multiple communities, each community representing something unique. The three blogs I author for example, represent entirely different communities, each with some overlap.
- Personal blog = entrepreneurial stuff, connecting, networking, social media…
- Segala blog = trust on the Web, standards, search, semantic web…
- BIMA blog = mainly Industry, creativity…
- Twitter = all of the above
You’ll notice that Twitter represents all of my communities. But it only represents a very small percentage of each one and hence, a small percentage of my social network. That’s because only a small handful of each community is represented by the early adopters in each one.
As I said, I won’t stop twittering. It’s a fantastic way to get to know more people whilst strengthening relationships. Twitter is also the world’s most comprehensive news feed and periodic replacement for a search engine when searching for stuff such as contact details or recommendations.
Think about it for a minute, do you sometimes Twitter messages that warrant a blog post? Does laziness encourage you to opt for the more accessible Twitter?
Helene Haughney says 
Paul G says 
Ted says 
Ross Tweedie says 
For me, Twitter is a place where I can get much more personal than I ever would on my blog (my updates are protected and I err on the side of caution about whose follow requests I approve). Twitter is also a place where I can be much more cheeky and come out with a side of my humor (if I can call it that) which…well, let’s just say I don’t think it would play well in the context of my blog. It’s a safe haven on the web, cheesy as it sounds.
I always seem to mention Dave Winer in my comments here, but when I was following him, he seemed to be using Twitter as a place to germinate seeds of potential blog posts. A high percentage of his tweets seemed to grow into more lengthy and explanatory posts. It was interesting as a reader of both - until everything started being election-oriented! - to see how he played each format for their respective strengths.
March 19th, 2008
In my blog, I post mostly about social media/work stuff. I am undisciplined enough to only blog irregularly, so I focus on my key blog. I whitter on in Twitter about work, social media, betas, and domestic stuff too.
Because I have a much smaller number of followers, I tend to get less responses to my information requests, so it’s not so effective for that.
Sadly, I sometimes twitter about future blog posts to motivate to make them…
I wonder if should get to grips better with tumblr.com to make the posts that are too long for twitter but too short for blogs.
I also need to get to grips with how I manage feeds between the various systems. My FriendFeed is cluttered with mostly twitter updates as is jaiku. I have to be more selective.
I won’t stop twittering either - but it is mostly about *what I’m doing*. And a stream of consciousness
March 19th, 2008
@Jackie - I know what you mean about Dave Winer. I tuned out due to his constant bombardment of political views. I must follow him again when he stops, but I’m sure lots forget - he’s the one that loses out in the end.
Isn’t Twitter a great thread in between other communications tools such as Facebook, Qik and Blogs?
@Steve - I think Twitter is great for telling people about what you’re going to blog about because remember, not all your followers will get to see every tweet. It’s sometimes good to give a taster for things to come.
March 20th, 2008