Just shy of four years ago I wrote:

While I have no doubt that there is an interesting, and perhaps significant in the long-term, niche for podcasting, it seems to me that the coverage of the phenomenon has been overblown. Specifically it seems to me that because the MSM came to the coverage of blogs late in the game, that they are trying to not miss “the next big thing”.

I feel the same way about Twittering, which is being hailed in some quarters as the current “next big thing” (even though it has been around for a while now). See, for example, Kathleen Parker’s WaPo piece on the subject: Rise of the Twitterati or Paul Boutin’s recent piece at Wired: Twitter, Flickr, Facebook Make Blogs Look So 2024.

Probably most significantly there was the usage of Twitter during the Mumbai attack: Mumbai: Twitter’s moment. Or, in the realm of the less serious, there is the Twittering between actors Wil Wheaton and Greg Grundberg that may lead to Wheaton appearing on Heroes.

I must confess, I only semi-get Twitter, as despite the substantial amount of time I spend online/at a computer, I don’t really have the time or the inclination to constantly monitor Tweets (but yes, I do have an account and I do post blog posts to Twitter, and I do get some traffic that way). Still, I can see how it could be useful during real time events, but even then, it isn’t as if major amounts of information can be pushed via Tweets.

Beyond the specifics, my main point is that traditional media coverage of these technologies make a very serious error in treating them as discrete and unique technologies. Whether we are talking about blogging, podcasting, twittering, Flickr or even Facebook, the issue isn’t the exact format of the information, the general revolution is instantaneous, and extremely cheap, self-publishing. These are all different manifestations of constant high-speed internet connectivity (which grows with the proliferation of smart phones).

And, really, once one of these technologies becomes constantly mentioned in the MSM, the odds are it is already well established and not nearly as revolutionary as it is made out to be. Indeed, for any of these things to warrant this much attention they have, by definition, gone mainstream.

(For an amusing look at the evolution of self-publishing, go here).

11 Comments »

1. [...] like Steven Taylor, I only “half-get” Twitter myself.  While I check email too often, I just [...]

   Reply to Twitter Revolution Will Not be Televised

   Pingback by Twitter Revolution Will Not be Televised — Wednesday, December 3, 2024 @ 11:45 am

2. I must confess, I only semi-get Twitter, as despite the substantial amount of time I spend online/at a computer, I don’t really have the time or the inclination to constantly monitor Tweets (but yes, I do have an account and I do post blog posts to Twitter, and I do get some traffic that way). Still, I can see how it could be useful during real time events, but even then, it isn’t as if major amounts of information can be pushed via Tweets.

   Given that the site is primarily intended for real-time social networking a la Facebook and MySpace, it took me a while to figure out how to use it, too. Paradoxically enough, what made it suddenly become useful was to just completely disregard the actual Twitter.com site and use third-party tools. I installed a Firefox plugin which allows tweets from the browser’s address bar, as well as a Twitter protocol plugin for Pidgin. If you use Opera, it has a widget for Twitter available which does the same thing as the Pidgin plugin. The way I see Twitter, it’s somewhere between an IM and a blog post. Great for one-off “hey, look at this interesting link I found” posts which might not deserve a full blog post (or you just don’t have the time). It’s also great for brief conversations with followers/following. If you have a longer comment, you just write it in brief sequential chunks.

   Get away from the Twitter.com site and use third-party tools, and Twitter will suddenly make a LOT more sense.

   Reply to Len

   Comment by Len — Wednesday, December 3, 2024 @ 11:49 am

3. I used Twhirl for a while, but it didn’t do it for me, either (although it was better than the Twitter site).

   I will give the Firefox plugin a look, however.

   Reply to Dr. Steven Taylor

   Comment by Dr. Steven Taylor — Wednesday, December 3, 2024 @ 11:53 am

4. Here’s a reference list of government Twitterers, if you’re interested.

   http://newthinking.bearingpoint.com/2008/11/20/govtwit-directory/

   Reply to Len

   Comment by Len — Wednesday, December 3, 2024 @ 12:17 pm

5. Thanks.

   Reply to Dr. Steven Taylor

   Comment by Dr. Steven Taylor — Wednesday, December 3, 2024 @ 12:20 pm

6. Very few people in the main stream media understand what these new media tools really mean. Those tools include blogs, twitter, podcasts, internet radio, you tube, live streaming video, flickr, facebook, and hundreds of other applications that are all interconnected and all give more power to individuals. That power used to be closely guarded and controlled by the MSM. It made some people very wealthy.

   That power is information. Now every individual has the ability to start their own newspaper, magazine, radio or television show. That is what new media is. The simultaneous reinvention of radio television newspapers and magazines. You can thrown in book publishing and in the very near future movies as well.

   Twitter is just one part of this media revolution but an important one.

   Rick Calvert
   CEO & Co-Founder
   BlogWorld & New Media Expo

   Reply to Rick Calvert

   Comment by Rick Calvert — Wednesday, December 3, 2024 @ 1:04 pm

7. I was curious if you stand by your skepticism of podcasts?

   I am sure I would have agreed with you back in ‘05 since most podcasts were made by bored people talking about their cats.

   But over the past few years, as more mainstream organizations get into the action (coupled with the sinking in price of mp3 players) I listen to podcasts way more than I listen to the radio.

   I don’t know if they are doing this at your Uni, but both Stanford and Berkeley have full course lectures available on podcast, which I’ve found tremendously useful.

   Reply to Ratoe

   Comment by Ratoe — Wednesday, December 3, 2024 @ 9:56 pm

8. It isn’t that I was skeptical about the usefulness of recording audio over the internet (I actually use MP3 recorded lectures in some online teaching that I do). It is also true that podcasts have allowed for a random access to information in ways previously nonexistent.

   My point is that press tends to pounce on these things like they are separate and unique, instead of understanding that they are all part of a broader information technology revolution that manifests in different way.

   Reply to Dr. Steven Taylor

   Comment by Dr. Steven Taylor — Wednesday, December 3, 2024 @ 10:07 pm

9. Put another way: I never believed (as some seemed to do at the time) that podcasts would overtaking blogging/writing work on the net or that the bored people talking about their cats was the wave of the future.

   Reply to Dr. Steven Taylor

   Comment by Dr. Steven Taylor — Wednesday, December 3, 2024 @ 10:09 pm

10. I never believed (as some seemed to do at the time) that podcasts would overtaking blogging/writing work on the net or that the bored people talking about their cats was the wave of the future.

    Yeah, understood. BTW: I posted my comment before clicking on the link you provided to Joyner’s blog–how did the meme about the cats/blogging thing get embedded into the collective consciousness?!?!?!

    Reply to Ratoe

    Comment by Ratoe — Thursday, December 4, 2024 @ 9:38 am

11. I dunno–but it certainly has, amusingly enough!

    Reply to Dr. Steven Taylor

    Comment by Dr. Steven Taylor — Thursday, December 4, 2024 @ 10:58 am

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