Nov 8, 2011

Twitter question

Most of you blogiots are also twidiots, and I mean no disrespect by that. I'm a twidiot too.  But I have a serious Twitter question that may or may not be awkward.

I've noticed some of you use websites/apps like Get Glue, Foursquare, Gowalla, etc... And you have them linked to your Twitter accounts. Checking in with these sites/apps (and I'm kinda guessing here) will generate a tweet to your Twitter stream.  Right?  Is that how they work?  To broadcast to the Twitterverse where you've been, what TV show you've watched, where you've eaten.  Things like that.  Again, I'm not sure exactly how they work, but that's the general drift I get from seeing the generated tweets.

I'm curious as to why you use these sites/apps.  What, exactly, are YOU getting out of it?

I mean, I can see when you've had lunch at McDonalds or breakfast at Denny's or whatever. Or that you've watched the latest episode of Glee with 75 others who've checked in. Or that you've unlocked some sticker of some sort for visiting someplace you haven't been before.

I don't really think about those tweets very much.  They show up in my timeline all the time, but it rarely interests me. As I peruse Twitter, I usually skip right past them. I'm just not sure why you want me to know that you are doing those things. Not sure what I'm supposed to do with that information.

So, again,  I'm curious as to why you are using these sites/apps.  I'm a relative noob to Twitter.  I only follow 56 feeds, and there are only 42 folks who follow me (42 people who must be bored to death with my Twitter lameness).  Maybe there is something here that I am missing with this particular piece of social media. Maybe there are some really fun and interesting reasons to use these sites/apps. I dunno. 

I honestly don't mean to put anyone down for what they are or aren't doing on Twitter.  It's not my place.  I'm just really curious about these things.  Truly.

Holla back if you care to enlighten me.  Thanks!

16 comments:

Dave2 said...

You're a stronger man than I, because I mute all those integrated Twitter clients so I never have to see them.

The only "service" I use like that is Gowalla, and that's solely to keep track of the places I go on my travels. I rarely tweet those check-ins though... only when they are interesting (which is almost never).

Rachel said...

I just signed up for Get Glue, and I'm not sure why. I was on 4square for a bit, and with that, if you are Mayor of someplace, you might be able to get something free, maybe.

One Get Glue, you get stickers and can get them for real, but again, not sure what you can do with them.

sybil law said...

Yep. I think it's stupid, though, and I'll actually say it. I mean, no sweat off my back, but it's just so silly. I've heard about the stickers, but what do you DO with the damn stickers?! Start a frigging scrapbook?! Pull it out when friends come over and say, "Oh, look! Here's the first time I watched Glee - well, I mean, once I signed up for this shit. I mean, I watched it BEFORE... big fan... Oh! here's the first time I watched Hawaii 5-0..."
WTF, people. First time someone whips that scrapbook out I'm outta there.

Verdant Earl said...

Dave2 - That's why assumed people use Gowalla. To track where you go on your travels. I don't really travel that much, so I don't think it's a service for me. Thanks! And you can mute certain tweets? I did not know that...

Rachel - Ah...free stuff! Well, that IS a decent reason to use them, I guess. And I didn't realize that you could use the stickers for stuff as well. See? I'm learning here. Thanks!

Sybil - Well keeping them in a scrapbook might be silly, but, according to Rachel, you might actually be able to get stuff with them. And I've actually got a collector's soul. I used to collect comic books and such, so I can also appreciate collecting just for collecting. I dunno if some use the service like that, but I could at least understand it.

Kevin McKeever said...

I just don't get them either, so I just let them slide by.

hello haha narf said...

those fucking tweets are MADDENING to me. if i want to know what you are watching on tv i will also join that gluemyasstothetv site and be your friend or couch potato or whatever the fuck they call it. if i want to know where you are i will also join fuckyousquare and be your travelmate or friend or whatever. since i don't go to those sites and join, STOP FUCKING UP MY TWITTER FEED.
seriously, i am thinking of unfollowing people i consider dear friends because i am so tired of seeing them watch maury and days of our lives, i am so tired of seeing them check into the same fucking home they live in every night. love these folks, but not sure how much more i can take.
it just doesn't make sense that those types of services are ALWAYS tied to twitter. it is the always part that i am reaching my limit with.
and as for dave muting them? great that he can do that, but the apps i use for twitter on my phone don't give me that luxury. tweetdeck on my phone won't let me, but it will on the computer.
sad.
all of it is sad.

please don't get me wrong, i'm sure people tire of seeing me post images of trees or talk about my dog or whatever. they have every right to tell me that it bothers them or unfollow me. i know i use twitter in a way that others don't. i get that.

hello haha narf said...

oooooh, look at me ranting up your comments. sorry. i just can't stand the constant overstepping into twitter that those other "services" do constantly.
obviously i need to work on who i follow. and my alleged anger issue!

Verdant Earl said...

Uncool Kevin - That's what I have been doing. I'm interested in hearing from the people who DO use those services to see what they get of it.

Becky - Whoa! Well, as Dave2 mentioned, it seems you can mute the tweets from those services if they really bother you that much. I have no idea how to do that, but it looks like it is an option. That should help, right?

marty mankins said...

Sounds like I'm going to be the minority here, but I enjoy the checking in part. I really don't care to clutter up my Twitter stream, mostly because so many others hate it. But for my Foursquare and GetGlue check-ins, I like to broadcast where I am or what I'm watching/listening to.

As for what I get out of it, the GetGlue is nice to see what others are watching or listening to. Foursquare gives me some deals for local places I check into (like free chips and salsa at Chili's with each check in).

It's a social media thing on a few levels higher than a simple tweet.

Verdant Earl said...

Marty - That's what I was looking for. Thanks for responding. I still don't really understand the draw of GetGlue, but free stuff from Foursquare sounds pretty cool. That's a great reason. Thanks!

Avitable said...

I don't like to use those services to send anything to Twitter unless I'm saying something as well, or taking a photo, or doing something other than just checking in/listing what I'm doing. If anyone really cares about any of that shit enough to know when I check in somewhere, they can follow me on that service, or read through my oh-so exciting Lifestream. (http://www.avitable.com/lifestream/)

Verdant Earl said...

Adam - I'd read through your Lifestream, but I don't want to taint my soul. Any more than it's already tainted, that is. ;)

Ren said...

I think a big part of the reason people have these services update their Twitter feed is that it's often the default and takes extra effort to disable.

As to why to use the services in the first place, I'd say a lot of it is just because you can. It's like a game. The GetGlue stickers are pretty cool, but I have no idea what to do with the ones I've received. They're just sitting in my study for now.

Verdant Earl said...

Ren - We adults need our games too. I get that. Very cool...thanks!

hello haha narf said...

so i didn't unfollow anyone yesterday. mostly because ren brightened my mood by turning off stupid notifications and showing me that folks just don't know how annoying double check ins or check ins that say the same crap over and over are. maybe others will eventually get it as well.
thank you ren.
and also thank you adam. your comment was exactly what i was trying to say and just failed miserably!

Dave2 said...

You can mute clients IF your Twitter client supports it. On my Mac, for example, Echofon supports muting. On my iPhone, Tweetbot supports muting.