Why I Stopped Reading Three Blogs

Alright - so this stirred the pot on Twitter, so I thought I’d expand on this here.
I tossed a comment onto Twitter today which read: “Pondering unsubscribing from 3 blogs who are using “retroblogging” techniques. Sorry, but I simply don’t have the time.“. A lot of people commented back to me about this, and wondered [...]

Alright - so this stirred the pot on Twitter, so I thought I’d expand on this here.

I tossed a comment onto Twitter today which read: “Pondering unsubscribing from 3 blogs who are using “retroblogging” techniques. Sorry, but I simply don’t have the time.“. A lot of people commented back to me about this, and wondered what it is and why I’m no longer going to be reading them… So I thought I’d expand.

First, I’ve been explained that “retroblogging” is creating blog posts that are past-dated, though publishing them on a later date. The people I’ve seen doing this have explained to me that this is done to put additional perspective on when the thought hit, and not when the post was written. This would mean that my handful of blog post ideas in my notebook from PodCamp toronto would all be dated … last weekend. Part of the “retroblogging” thin, though, is that posts are still published in order… So this post wouldn’t be “allowed” until ALL of my posts “from” last weekend went up.  That way everything stays in order and retains the perspective of when things are thought of.

Here’s the problem, though. If I’m a reader  of your blog, which I may have been until today, 3 posts in 10 minutes is CRAZY. I make a point of trying to keep on top of my blogs. I use my “mark as read” buttons very frequently, and try to go to bed with a clean slate. Why? Because it lets me start each day fresh and new and able to keep up. I do, occasionally, let some things drift, but that should be my call. If it’s March 2nd and you’re posting something dated February 27th,  along with 3, 5 or 8 other posts, IT’S OLD NEWS. And having to devote 10, 20 or 45 minutes to catch up on your blog, because you, for whatever reason, didn’t post it when it should have been posted, is TOO MUCH TIME - and I’m not going to put up with it any more.
If I’m no longer a subscriber to your blog, I’m sorry. I’m hoping important things you have to say reach me via others. If you think I was (And am no longer as a result of this) a reader, feel free to get in touch. Especially if you change your practices.

My Twitter Suitcases Are Packed

If you follow me on Twitter, or heck, if you use Twitter at all, you know that they’ve been experiencing things that are “technically wrong”. Now, perhaps this was intentional on their part to show off the new error message, but they’re really starting to push the limit on what’s acceptable for down time.
Customer Service [...]

If you follow me on Twitter, or heck, if you use Twitter at all, you know that they’ve been experiencing things that are “technically wrong”. Now, perhaps this was intentional on their part to show off the new error message, but they’re really starting to push the limit on what’s acceptable for down time.

Customer Service Went First

I keep my profile on Twitter protected. Not so much because I don’t want people following what I say (I do) or because I have things to hide (I don’t) but simply because if I don’t protect my profile, my Twitter page jumps to the top of Google and out-ranks my own web site. That, for some reason, bothers me. I’d like to see Twitter implement a “no index” option, so I can keep my profile public but not have it show up in Google, but alas, that’s likely a dream.

Nearly 3 weeks ago (Jan 14th, to be exact) I noticed that when I clicked on  the friend request link on the side I received an error. I emailed support about it. I received an answer on the 16th stating that it was a bug, they were aware of it, and were working on a fix. I replied on the 20th looking for a workaround as I saw the number of requests grow from 1 to 5 to 8 to 11. Nothing. I emailed again on the 28th, now at 14 people. Nothing. I’m over 20 requests now. No word from support. No workaround. Still broken.

Ready To Move On

After the issues I’ve had with support, and now with the large amount of downtime - I’m ready to pack it in. Permanently. I won’t, yet, because Twitter currently provides much too much value to me to abandon it. It sounds though, to me, like the sentiments throughout the Twitter community are starting to sway the same way. If they pass that all-too-famous tipping point, I think Twitter will be looking at a mass exodus.

And hey - maybe that’ll help with the stability issues.

Following The Leaders?

So, yesterday, Chris Brogan started the TwitterPacks project - designed to help answer the question “If someone were joining Twitter today, who might they follow?”. He kicked it off with a blog post, and a bunch of tweets. Now, there was some debate between myself and various others via @s and DMs and it seems [...]

So, yesterday, Chris Brogan started the TwitterPacks project - designed to help answer the question “If someone were joining Twitter today, who might they follow?”. He kicked it off with a blog post, and a bunch of tweets. Now, there was some debate between myself and various others via @s and DMs and it seems people are confused on my position… So I thought I’d clarify.

Drawing The Line

I’m a fan of the idea. Twitter is a vast, vast community of people and trying to find groups of like minded individuals in it is getting more and more difficult by the day. I’ve been able to find other local Twitter users using the built in search, but finding other people who like, say, bowling, or who work at a specific company is not easy. So the idea of a list that answers “Who on Twitter is into bowling?” or “Who on Twitter works for ACME, Inc” is a really useful tool. I can understand, too, that not everyone is a fan of the search field, or fills in profile details, so a “Who on Twitter lives in Anytown” is also handy to have.

What I’m not a fan of is the execution - but I’m going to be a little shadowy here, so as to not hurt feelings. At the time of writing there are 8 people listed in the Toronto Pack. Now, in the interest of disclosure, I was following all of them prior to the pack’s creation. Had someone were to ask me “Who in Toronto should I follow on Twitter?” I would have probably rattled off a list of 10-12 people. Only 5 or so of the pack list make my list of recomended folk, despite me following all of them. I can also list people I feel are missing from the Montreal, Vancouver, Pittsburgh, PodCamp Pittsburgh and PodCamp Toronto packs.

So… Why Not Add Them?

The comment came up when I mentioned my stance to someone last night, that I could just add the people I feel are missing. The site is, after all, a wiki, and was designed specifically for any user to be able to add people. I have added a couple of people (Never myself, I don’t ever add myself or my projects to wikis), but then I decided I didn’t want to play anymore. Why? Well, what am I supposed to do with the people I DON’T feel should be on the list? I guess I leave them alone, right?  What’s to say they didn’t add themselves to the pack just to get a large number of followers? Or maybe Jane added John because she values his opinions - but she’s the only one who does?

The few people I added, were added because I either value what they say, or feel they bring unique perspective to conversations. Or both. I didn’t add myself to any of the packs I’m on, and I’m not sure who did, but I hope they did so looking at what I post to Twitter (Or my blog, or elsewhere) and added me based on who I was and what I have to say, and not simply because I know then through a specific channel or because we’re friends.

Next For Me

The TwitterPacks project is a really neat one to watch, but I’m not sure of a really neat way to FIX it. There has been some discussion on the original blog post, as well as on Chris’ follow-up, of new ways to “fix” the project, but I feel any method would be fundamentally flawed. A voting system can be gamed, a central body can be bribed (And sway based on personal opinion) and an open system, well, we’re seeing how well that one would work right now.

I chose to step out of the TwitterPacks project based on the fact that the decentralized, all-access system simply has too many holes. While I’ve been a fan of Wikipedia for years now, I’ve been known to critique them for similar issues. The major difference is that Wikipedia entries, most of the time, can’t be looked at as popularity contests. I’ve never been one to add or remove details about myself (or work I do) to any wiki, this one included - I only correct details. I’m not sure what the “removal” policies are on TwitterPacks, but I could easily see someone angry at this post removing me from the lists I’m on - and that’s OK by me.

I’ve always discovered new people to follow through word of mouth, or in-person events - and I’ll likely stick to that. A comment from someone else suggesting I follow you is a thousand times more valuable to me then seeing your name on a list. And finding me on a list of people? Well, hearing that someone personally recommended you follow me is a much larger compliment then any list could ever be.