Comments on: Twitter – distraction or connection?

By: lucy

lucy — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 00:00:53 +0000

i knew you’d like the “cutting-edge” comment. it is very true or maybe i just need to get out more

after listening to all of the conversation around jesus and facebook, i shall respond to your question with a resounding, “ummm. no.”

By: Tess

Tess — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 15:48:27 +0000

Lucy, I’m not sure I’ve ever been called cutting-edge before!

What an interesting question in your last paragraph? Care to answer it?

By: lucy

lucy — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 16:53:23 +0000

you are such a cutting edge sort of gal, tess i peeked at twitter once and quickly closed it. i also had my facebook account for about 3 years before i actually began to use it. i was enjoying it very much (like jan) until the new format showed up.

this is all so interesting. we were doing group interviews yesterday for students wanting to be admitted into a school that combines theology and psychology. the beginning statement was given and the prospective students asked to respond:

“the future of relationship is in social networking.” quite a lively conversation ensued. at one point, the topic moved to : “would jesus have a facebook?” interesting times indeed!

By: kigen

kigen — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 22:59:03 +0000

Hi Tess, I put a response to this on Equinox post by mistake, sorry.

By: Tess

Tess — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 21:17:51 +0000

@Jan: thank you for this comment – I, too, need to guard my time and solitude, so don’t spend much time on Twitter. Somehow I just can’t get into Facebook to the same extent though. I joined both around the same time and thought my usage would be the other way around as Twitter seemed more counter-intuitive.
@Elaine: I always look out for your Tweets, I count them among those that have taught me lots
@Barbara: I confess I did put a link to your post up. It was so beautiful I wanted to share it.
On distraction, no I don’t find it so. It could be, no doubt about it, but unless you sit all day waiting for another tweet to pop up, it isn’t. For example, I’m just typing this waiting for the water for my pasta to boil, and immediately beforehand, I logged in to Twitter for five minutes, caught up with what a few people had been saying, responded to a couple of others and that’s it for today. I was on for about five minutes at lunchtime as well. And you have to log in, stuff doesn’t just arrive in your email.
On mobile hardware: actually, I very rarely do anything on the move, although a lot of people do. Mostly only at the PC. An ordinary mobile phone will do the job though.
But different strokes etc., loads of people think Twitter is weird and unusable, and that’s fine!

By: Barbara

Barbara — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 20:43:12 +0000

You must have referenced my blogpost to the Tweeterverse (or whatever it is called) because I got a bit of a bounce. Not many stayed around to read, though. My software tells me they came via Tweeter.
This post is most informative, but you did not say much or anything about Tweeter as a distraction. Long ago, I must confess I felt getting unsolicited email was a violation of my privacy and quite disturbing. I have found ways to deal with that nowadays, but my reluctance to put myself out there is quite enormous.
Being totally ignorant of these things, indulge me by telling what sort of hardware is necessary to receive and transmit Tweets. If I do not use mobile devices, I guess it takes all the constant exposure “fun” out of Tweeting.

By: Elaine

Elaine — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 06:05:23 +0000

Hello Tess. To answer the ? posed by your title: connection — If we follow the guidelines in your excellent primer on Twitter. If anyone asks me what, why or how type questions, I’ll pass on the link to this blog post.

And even though I’ve been using Twitter for a while, you’ve given me some new tips & links that I’m now going to check out. Thanks.

By: Jan Richardson

Jan Richardson — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 03:03:14 +0000

Tess–I so appreciate the way that your contemplative soul comes also with a heart for building community in a contemporary fashion. Thanks for the excellent intro to Twitter. My sweetheart and I have both been giving some thought to the question, “To Twitter or not to Twitter?” Navigating my longing both for copious solitude and also for connecting with community is an ongoing challenge/invitation for me, and I haven’t quite figured out how much of the social networking fits for me. (I enjoy Facebook a lot–aside from the cumbersome new format, but I trust that’ll get worked out eventually–but also experience it as yet one more place where I’m behind on my correspondence!) Your comments provide great food for thought as I continue to discern what it means to be a connected contemplative. Will share them with my sweetheart as well. Thank you!

By: Tess

Tess — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 18:29:05 +0000

@Sib: especially with all your mobile stuff you have for your job, Twitter would be great. Let me know if you start Tweeting regularly. And I’m sure if you started a blog it would be really interesting. Hint, hint.
@Laura: hey, thanks for the comment! And 24 is a very fine age, I remember it, er, fairly well (she shoves the Zimmer frame out of sight…)

By: Laura Roeder

Laura Roeder — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 18:13:24 +0000

Thanks for the props and link. I am 24 for the record!