Web 2.0: the teeter-totter

why is this post showing as one big block of text without formatting? stupid human error factor I’ve really jumped into the web 2.0 game, despite still being a green thumb. I’m twittering, if only once every few days; I write a blog, if only about random and unoriginal things; and about 75% of my daily communicating is done via electronics. Amidst these new tools, I keep wondering about their effects, both positive and negative. Wondering, but nothing thinking of anything particularly concrete.      Then this came, written by, we shall say, my own web 2.0 mentor: “…this is the secret to being truly webby: immediacy and trusting our instincts.”This line got stuck in my mind all morning. What struck me is the word immediacy. For me, immediacy coupled with personal characteristics like being impulsive, high-strung, emotional, quick-thinking and aggressive can be a dangerous recipe. On several occasions I have felt the wrath of myself. Sending off a quick email without rereading – or, without taking 10 mins or even a day, to think it over – can have its detrimental effects. This is where the trust in your own instincts comes to play. Or in my case, it is best called moderation. As everyone moves into a more web 2.0 world, it will be important to provide checks on our ability to be immediate. Somehow, those “Are you sure?” pop-up dialogue boxes don’t seem so annoying. If only there were an “Are you sure?” pop-up in real life! 

Twitter Terminal Velocity

I’m catching the Twitter-bug. But I can’t say the attraction was immediate. At first, I thought, why would I want to know when so-and-so is doing their laundry?! Or just got 5 new projects?!Twitter can be annoying if you follow the people who post such things. But otherwise, it’s a great way to have your finger on the pulse of any network. For example, I heard about the Zucherberg and Lacy interview before anything was even posted. Twitter is not an exclusive club. Anyone can sign up and figure it out. But how can one effectively network when high-profile people use pseudonyms? I started by adding absolutely everyone. Everyone that my teacher follows, I now follow. Some guy posts something useful, I now follow as his followers. And so on. BuzzMachine, in a blog post, quotes political blogger Patrick Ruffini saying, “Traditional news operated on a 24-hour cycle. Blogs shortened this to minutes and hours. Twitter shortens it further to seconds. It’s not right for every piece of information. But when it comes to instantly assembling raw data from several sources that then go into fully baked news stories, nothing beats it.” Now I have more people to follow than god. I’ve surpassed my twitter terminal velocity. It’s not time to cut out the “laundry” people. Basically, if you don’t post a useful link or really enlightening comment, you’re gone. This is how I’m making Twitter work for me.