I received some feedback today from a source I respect that my Twitter feed seems like a robot and has none of the vitality of my blog (to the extent my blog has vitality). I’m not going to argue with that or try to defend my use of Twitter because I agree that it seems robotic. That’s because it is robotic, and so is my Facebook presence.
Let me explain: my Twitter feed and Facebook posts are just automatic regurgitations of this blog’s content, both the posts and the News & Links items. They’re sucked out of the RSS feeds, pre-appended with “[blog post]” or “[w/o endorsement],” respectively, and piped to Twitter and Facebook.
Why do I do it that way? Because it is an easy way to provide a service for those who want it. It happens with no effort on my part. In short, I like it because it is robotic. That reflects the fact that I don’t care about Twitter and Facebook, and I don’t have time to. I’ve got a full-time job, plus a family that includes small children, and unfortunately I have to sleep about 7 hours a day (which I am not happy about, by the way).
Moreover, I’m interested in expressing my ideas in 500-900 word chunks. That’s why I like blogging. I’ve tried Facebook, caught up with some old friends with whom I now e-mail, and now find Facebook of little use. I’ve given Twitter a glance or two, not found a very satisfying way to interface with it, and given up.
That may change. But for now, my Twitter feed sucks, and I like it that way.
