Full Circle Associates

After getting a breath of fresh air from another post from danah, I saw this one. Payback time. danah wants to know about our twittering. Here are the questions she is asking. apophenia:

"First, the practical question. Can i quote you?
[ ] Yes, and you *must* use my real name.
[ ] Yes, but please use a pseudonym and don't use any identifying information.
[ ] No, please just use this for your own weird thoughts.

1. Why do you use Twitter? What do you like/dislike about it?

2. Who do you think is reading your Tweets? Is this the audience you want? Why/why not? Tell me anything you think of relating to the audience for your Tweets.

3. How do you read others' Tweets? Do you read all of them? Who do you read/not read and why? Do you know them all?

4. What content do you think is appropriate for a Tweet? What is inappropriate? Have you ever found yourself wanting to Tweet and then deciding against it? Why?

5. Are your Tweets public? Why/why not? How do you feel about people you don't know coming across them? What about people you do know?

6. What do i need to know about why Twitter is/is not working for you or your friends?"

Post your answers in the comments on danah's blog, or blog yours and post a link in her comments. Mine are below...

Yes, you can quote me. Feel free to use my name or not. Nao me importa!

1. Why do you use Twitter? What do you like/dislike about it?
First, I used it out of curiosity. When a tool trend emerges, I want to try and both experience it and "know" about it.
What I find annoying is the interruption it causes me (I'm easily distracted) and some of the dreck people twit about. Over time, I'm trimming my "friends" list. Oh, and I'm annoyed by the term friend. It is like the cheapening of the word "community" - problematic.

2. Who do you think is reading your Tweets? Is this the audience you want? Why/why not? Tell me anything you think of relating to the audience for your Tweets.
One set of readers is the circle of people I'm actively collaborating with. We use it as a sort of barometer with each other. The other set of readers are people I have a relationship with as friends or acquaintances. The rest, I have no freakin' idea if or why they are reading me. Need a life?

3. How do you read others' Tweets? Do you read all of them? Who do you read/not read and why? Do you know them all?
There is no way I can read all of them and I am reading less and less every day. The busier I am, the less I read. I read them sometimes to take a break, but if someone thinks they are delivering critical info to me via their tweets, I hate to break the news that I'm not getting it 90% of the time.

4. What content do you think is appropriate for a Tweet? What is inappropriate? Have you ever found yourself wanting to Tweet and then deciding against it? Why?
I'm getting tired of blog post announcements but I have mixed feelings, because every once in a while it flags my attention to something I otherwise would have missed. I love it when people ask and answer questions. I really don't care if you just had another cup of coffee. For people close to me, I enjoy "state of mind" tweets, but for those I'm less familiar with, those sorts of tweets fly past me.

5. Are your Tweets public? Why/why not? How do you feel about people you don't know coming across them? What about people you do know?
Nope. I think I create enough electronic pollution already.

6. What do i need to know about why Twitter is/is not working for you or your friends?
I have been pondering how we sometimes delude ourselves that our multitasking is effective. I watch some colleagues struggle to get work done, but are tweeting like mad. I see the distraction in my own behavior. I think there is some sort of self awareness that we really need to help us know when to attend to tweets, and when to turn it off.