What will be the next Twitter?

I love this video. I think this is a worrying glimpse into the future. :-)

Why not twitter?

Hello

I think I've misunderstood a key element of twitter when writing my post 

Why twitter?

As in the above clip I was only considering what impact or relevance messaging may have on the wider world. I thought it a litle vein of people (lol, says' me with a blog! I'm a TOTAL hypocrite).

Granted you can't deny that some people do use twitter because they think they're a bit special, I'm sure there are also some people who use it because they long for someone to take that level of interest in their lives. 

The missing piece of the puzzle. 

But I've realised that actually twitter is a very powerful tool to aid good mental health. (As apose to being a clear indicator of bad mental health.)

You're probably wondering how on earth this can be the case. Well... 

"the act of observing alters the reality being observed" - Common variation on Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle.

Whilst this principle is primarily designed to describe a principle of Quantum Mechanics. It also applies to psychology. 

The number of people that have said to me. "I can't join a gym, if I go by myself I'll never go." or "I've got to bet this done or my boss will be really pissed" or "I never thought I could do that, but my kids counting on me" or "My parents would be soo disapointed if I did X, Y or Z" 

There's something about pinning what we do, and how we act on the expectations, interation and needs of others. Just knowing that what you do it's just about you makes it more relevant. It makes you more determined to act appropriately regardless of what you personally want to do. 

The internal filter

I was driving yp to see my mum today and I realised that I was thinkblogging. (What's that?) Well, thinkblogging is when you discover you start thinking the same way you blog. Almost subconciously you apply boundries to what you think and structure your thoughts as if you were typing straight into a blog. You avoid certain topics that you wouldn't discuss on a blog, you think things through in a more structured way and you filter the way you think it just incase someone who knows you might read it and learn too much. Your thoughts become a blog post.

Because you're paying more attention as to how you think you naturally think differantly. I realised that I was thinking more positively, more protactively and I was thinking as if I was accountable for those thoughts, rather than them just being meaningless things that crop into my head. 

Being accountable to our thoughts by someone else can often be enough to motivate us to change our perception of things. 

What's this got to do with twitter?

Well you see, twittering isn't so much holding yourself accoutable to your thoughts as it is holding yourself accountable to your actions. Because your tweets are  public (even is no on reads them ( like this blog)) they have power. You wouldn't want to twitter your constant failures for the world to see would you? Something kicks in and you want to tweet the things that make you feel good. Even if you tweet something that seems meaningless like "I got to work and I was 5 mins late." To you this might actually mean your doing well today, because your normally 15 mins late. If you tweet "watching a film with my partner." You are probably actually saying to yourself, "I value my partner, we do fun things together, I'm happy". If you become a twitterdict  or twitter adict you probably find you exercise much more control over you actions because they suddenly seem to be more relevant. They carry meaning and they are of value, even if no one's reading them. 

Is this a new concept? 

No. There are many examples of how we've given relevance to things through our perception of what others might think rather than what we want. Here are a couple.. 

Keeping up with the neighbourhood. Ok, so the grass is getting a little long, but I'd rather be watching TV.... but what will the neighbours think? I'll do the lawn...

Religion. No one would notice if I did X, Y, or Z, but God (or Santa) would and he's keeping track. I can't be seen to fail in their eyes.

Deceased people. I would really like to do X, Y or Z and I know no one would care.... but my Nan said I shouldn't and I'd hate it if she looked down and saw me. 

These examples are arguable and really based on your own personal beliefs. In today's society we are less and less incluned to change our behaviour because of any of these values. These beliefs tend to seem more irrational than in the lives of our ancestors. They seem lesss real and therefore loose their effects. 

But it's much easier to have a solid belief and connection if you actually write something dwn and share it on the net. he person who's sitting in judgement, we may not know. But knowing that someone, somewhere may be. This pushes us on to be better than we otherwise would be.

So, why not twitter?

I'm forced to consider whether twitter would help me achieve my goals and be a better person through my actions in the same way I feel this blog is helping me to have more healthier thoughts.  

What would the world be like if we all twittered? Who knows. But for the first time I'm starting to think it might actually be a better place for all of us ot live. What do you think? 

why twitter?

Hello

I thought I should try and cover some of the big stuff first. Not really, I've just been thinking about twitter. The online phenomenon where people update the world with every little thing they do in their lives, from having a cup of tea, to taking out the rubbish (trash). (As if you didn't already know)

All about the now

Aren't we missing something in twitter? Is twitter too much about the RIGHT NOW, it looses all meaning? Would you go back and read past twitters? "Wow, Jane drank tea in 2009! I like tea too but I didn't know her love went back so far. I feel so connected with her."

English teachers (Fame)

One possible reason is the impact of English teachers. Yes... English teachers. I'm sure if you think about it you can remember lessons where you read extracts from the diary of someone long dead and that person is now kindda famous. Be it Anne Frank or Samuel Pepys (fire of London). Your teacher probably went on at length about the importance of these documents as an insight into another world and of course they are. They are also relatively unique insights and whilst I'm sure most of them weren't made with this in mind. The message from English Teachers is "If you write it it may make you famous and also relevant. You'd be creating something that outlives you for centuries to come." Powerful stuff! Of course a lot more powerful if we lived in a time when little records of our lives were kept long term. Why create one now? Everything we see, do and say seems to be recorded and logged somewhere. There's more known now than ever before and more documented than ever before. Rather than twitter giving us relevancy our lives are likely to be lost in a sea of voices. 

Art form

It's good, but is it art? Definition: "the quality, production, expression, or realm, according to aesthetic principles, of what is beautiful, appealing, or of more than ordinary significance." Ok. so some twitters are probably more than ordinary. But then I would imagine most of them aren't. But then if I paint something I can guarantee it won't be more than ordinary (as I can't paint). I might still call it art, but I don't think an art expert would. I do wonder if Shakespeare was alive today and he twittered, would student still be dissecting their meaning and relevance hundreds of years from now? Probably not. It's quite difficult to convey the emotional and cultural resonance you get from a play in 140 characters. 

Historical Caveman

Yes... I think they were the ones that truly invented twittering (old style). Of course they painted their daily activities on walls. Accordingly to the best rated Yahoo answer it was "to pass time. the same reason little kids draw in the dirt with a stick" Did we start twittering for the same reason? Boredom? Maybe that explains why there's little value in some of the messages...  But then twittering is more than just filling time, isn't it?

Social Need? 

We wake up and get out of bed and every day for us is working towards something. Twitter doesn't address the basics of 'food, water and shelter'. I doubt you'd really use it to attract dates (hmmm... or would you?) It wouldn't be my first approach to dating, put it that way. There is another need and that is psychological need. The genius of our evolution in a species that isn't the strongest, fastest, biggest animal in the kingdom is being able to work together. Fail to work together and your dead. So it makes sense that we're evolved a social NEED. But isn't social need a two way thing? Does twitter really address that? 

Self obsessed?

As an analyzer, I'm very familiar with the idea of self obsession. Although I try my best to to  inflict it on others and remain kind and generous. This is already probably the longest blog posting in the world, so I won't do into why we're self obsessed. That's a blog in itself. So for the moment let's just accept that we all are. So twitter's like having a newspaper that's dedicated just to YOU. You're a celebrity in your own world. Generated by you, for the praise and self assurance of you. You feel good because you achieved that cup of tea. It was hard work dragging yourself away from the computer/tv to make it and now you reap the rewards. Why not congratulate yourself and post it for the world to see. 

Conclusion

Like most things we do, it's all about the feel good factor. That's not going away and twitter is the latest in a long list of inventions to help us feel better. It gives us reassurance and (at least we think) meaning. I started this post thinking it was pointless 'noise' and that I'd never use it. But, actually. It makes a lot of sense. I think twittering will become BIG. 

But it's still not everything. It won't replace all the other things we do. If you want to research a subject you don't go to a historian's twitter to gain insight on the 18th century. You'll only learn about the garden shed their building. Luckily there's still a role for subject based communication and not just updates. 

What do you think? Add your comments below!