If blogging is “here is what I think.”
Is Twitter “here is what I think is interesting?”
Very different, both influential.
(Food for thought: why is it so much easier to get Twitter followers than blog subscribers? Does it feel like a smaller commitment to follow someone on Twitter? Does that mean that in the endgame Twitter wins?)
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I’m Sasha Dichter. I’ve written this blog since 2008, about generosity, fundraising, leadership and the long, slow work of pursuing mastery. By day I run 60 Decibels. More about me · Browse by topic
To me it often seems that Twitter is more: “here is what I think is interesting, but I am not going to bother editing or clarifying that thought for my followers.”
These questions – and in particular the word “commitment” – inspired me to comment. My reply became unsuitably long-winded for this box however, so if you care to read my response via a dating analogy, it is on my blog.
Maybe it just means that Twitter is easier to ignore?
I’ve been wondering the same thing. Here are a few thoughts that are in line with Hylah
1. Yes, it’s way easier to accept a follower on twitter, but not “commit” to her, like you do a blog in your RSS. For example, I follow about 250 people on Twitter. 50 of them I “really, really” follow using Tweetdeck groups. The other 250. Well they might come up when I block out 15 minutes to do a twitter scan.
2. For the blogs I subscribe to, sometimes I miss them for a few weeks, and then catch up and I feel sort of guilty that I missed his/her thoughts and the “moment.” I don’t get that feeling on twitter. Said another way, I have a much stronger emotional/intellectual commitment to blogs than tweets.
3. I don’t see twitter beating the blog. I still spend way more time on blogs vs. twitter. What about you? It’s probably 80/20 for me. Usually twitter introduces me to new blogs I’d otherwise never have found.
4. As of now, I think of Twitter as a “human feed” that filters high quality content that I wouldn’t have been able to find on google. I think of a blog as depot of thoughts from one person (or group of people) I respect and want to learn from.
5. Both of them are very good at introducing me to new ideas and new people.
I suspect one reason it is easier to get twitter followers is that the person following you on twitter (sometimes) is hoping to get some of your attention — that you’ll see the follow notice and click on the link and check them out.
As for quality followers (people who are genuinely interested in what you have to say, not spammers) I’m not sure if they are easier to get on twitter than blog subscribers. I do agree it is less of commitment, which is odd, when you consider that following/dropping on twitter is a more public than action than subscribing to an RSS feed.
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