Twitter is certainly dominating the blogosphere right now. I’m reading about the business model (local is the new black, as you very well know), about why we should be happy that brands are there, about the new search functionality, and it just goes on from there.
Is it indeed killing blogging?
Of course not. Twitter is microblogging, which in itself is empowering blogging, and that is a truly good thing.
It’s pretty simple really. You can easily send a flimsy thought to your followers using Twitter. The ease is unrivaled, a text message and it’s there for the world to see, or a mere click in your favorite Twitter app. That, and the 140 character cap, is making us communicate things that otherwise might’ve been blog posts. One could argue that it would indeed be proof of that whole “killing blogging” reasoning, but it is in fact the opposite.
Most tweets are short, uninteresting and unpolished nuggets. Sometimes they are brilliant, but most often they are not. Every little thought that ends up on Twitter is a blog post not written, and since most of the tweets are unpolished nonsense, it really isn’t a loss for traditional blogging.
So what about the excellent, almost genius, tweets of brilliance?
They often become blog posts, one way or the other, and getting polished in the process.
Twitter is great, I love it (follow me and the Blog Herald if you will), and I use it for communication and for things that I just don’t feel like blogging about. You should too, if you feel like having an outlet for all the stuff that won’t make it to your blog.
The fact that Twitter is more accessible, actually makes the blog posts that in fact do get written and published better. Sounds reasonable enough?
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I have to agree. Many thoughts that are just that thoughts get sent out into Twitter all the time. Most of the time they wouldn’t justify a full post and the author doesn’t have to do the same reasearch etc… involved with a good post.
That said when are you going to add the “Retweet This” app found on many other blogs? I Just retweeted this through Twitter and found you that way. I’m sure many would retweet from here.
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Thanks for the comment! Yep, we’ll add a retweet link soonish. :)
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The other night I used twitter as comment sniping tool. I placed as a third commenter on a highly trafficked blog, which was odd because I generally end up on the tail end of any blog post discussion.
Any thought that ends up on Twitter is a blog post not written. How very true. That’s why I like cooling my heels there. To hear voices other than your own – writing posts generally engender too much self absorption – is a cool and cheap way to unwind.
And of course I’d be a hypocrite if I don’t admit I trawl twitterville for those nuggets of unpolished thoughts for my own blog post ideas. And to strike a pose and be seen – this too. :)
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I had recently written a post on my blog – Is it the end of Blogging. I had argued that blogging is too powerful a tool to be taken over by tweets or for that matter youtube and facebook. While the latter two are entirely disconnected, twitter deserves a look.
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Thank you so much for writing this blog. Recently I have been reading all over the net how Twitter is killing blogs. If anything, Twitter should be used as a type of article marketing function. Utilizing Twitter in the correct manner will widen a blogger’s exposure. Another great site for bloggers is eZanga’s social network, http://www.HopOnThis.com. Right now they are running a blogging contest to get their users to generate content. It’s time to reinvent and empower the blogger.
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“I am stuck on Twitter-Brand ’cause Twitter’s stuck on me.”
I do love it for all of the serious stuff, the goofy stuff, the inane stuff, the social stuff – all of it.
Cheers
George aka @tumblemoose
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“Any thought that ends up on Twitter is a blog post not written.”
Not for me… Either I Twitter what I don’t have time to work out into a blogpost. Or I twitter something that later I rework into a full fledged blogpost…
P. aka @theroadto
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Don’t forget mini blogs.
If you click my name above, you will see my blog. If you visit http://twitter.com/ariherzog, you see my micro blog. But if you go to http://ariwriter.posterous.com, you see my mini blog.
In the end, it doesn’t matter where content is as long as people are reading it, interacting with you, and/or gaining value. Isn’t that the point?
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It really depends how you use Twitter.
Here is a simple case study of how Twitter can increase the traffic on your blog: http://www.blogtips.org/using-twitter-in-function-of-your-blog-in-3-easy-steps/
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