As I watch the Tweets scroll past my window like acid rain on a grey day, I wonder what percentage of the them are read. Or, is it a matter of everyone's talking and nobody's listening?
Sometimes when I tweet a blog post I happen to like, I get a response back saying, "thanks for the shout out." I appreciate the thank you note, but since my shout is one of millions, did it matter?
Do you ever wonder about such things?
We all want to be heard whether we're promoting books, web sites or simply shooting the breeze about family life. I'm tweeting about my book and you're tweeting about your book, but we're both in dire financial trouble, so (truth be told) neither one of us can affort to buy the other's book.
Meanwhile, neither one of us has time to really stop and talk about each other's books or families or day at the office because (truth be told) there are still a hundred tweets and Facebook updates left to check out. We understand each other, I think. That means we're each aware that between us we have a thousand friends and followers and that the day no longer permits such luxuries as a real conversation.
I LIKE you. You RT me. I tweet your post. You share my update. We're just moving shoutouts around without listening. I feel a lot of sorrow about this, about the fact that expediency has made our interactions so shallow and so expedient.
What about you? If you have a thousand Twitter followers, how many are really there? Listening, that is? If you have a thousand Facebook friends, how many of them are stopping by your page a couple of times a week to listen?
I feel like blogs, social networking and other related Internet sites are like a fast train, and my belief is that it's not bound for glory.
Perhaps I'm just not "wired probably" for all this dangling conversation.
--Malcolm
7 comments:
I still don't know how to work twitter. The flow of everyone's 'tweets' completely overwhelms me to the point that blogging has become my online 'go to' source.
Which I like, because here I can post my ramblings as if I am talking to just myself. I've come to find there are a lot of people out there just like me.
And I'm being heard, so in turn...I listen.
Because with listening comes understanding, growth. And who can say no to those things? :)
I'm not on Twitter or Facebook, for mostly the reasons you point out. With blogs, it feels to me like there's greater room for thoughtfulness and other people's responses--though they will never substitute for face-to-face interaction.
I agree, Cassie Mae. All those tweets are overwhelming whether one sees them in real time or looks through them later.
Blogs do seem better, Golden Eagle. More personal, too.
Malcolm
I think more people hear on twitter and FB than you may think. Today, someone I know told me when they mentioned me and one of my books to someone I don't know, that person said, "Oh, I've seen her on Facebook." That doesn't happen often, but it has happened to me twice in the past few months. People are recognizing my name, if not what I have said. That's the first part of selling books: having your name recognized.
That's good to know, Smoky. It would help if my blog stats on WordPress and Blogger told me where people came from. I don't know how many of the visits are from people who check the blog randomly, see a link on FB or see a tweet. Every once in a while, I even get a direct response or an RT on twitter. :-)
Malcolm
I enjoyed your very thoughtful post, and I resonate as I have had the same thoughts while tweeting and watching the rapid tweets go by on Twitter. Sometimes we are noticed or RT'd or mentioned and we do so in return. If I don't tweet at least 5 times throughout the day, I am forgotten in the masses of Twitter. I can't tweet that much anyway. Listening? I really do not think so.
Wanderer Star, I wish I had more time to listen. When I stop and view the tweets for a while, I see some good stuff. Yet, I think a lot of what's said isn't heard.
Malcolm
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