Russell asked me the other day - which social network (webby 2 type things) would you drop first and why?
That sounds like a good excuse for a meme.
What social network web 2.0 type things would you drop first and why?
1. Twitter
Me and Twitter really don't get on. I don't hate it, that's too strong a word, but I'm not in love with it. I try and do it but I'm never sure it works. I like reading them but I hate the attempted boastfulness of some of the tweets. You know the type, "Writing this on Al Gore's Mac Book Air whilst sat on my new organic deck chairs on my 10,000ft roof terrace." And the food ones, I hate the food ones. And the links. Don't link via Twitter people it's not a good look. Dan Saffer has some good Twitter rules here. So Twitter I could lose easily.
2. Technorati
What is Technorati? I have no idea. It gives me a ranking which is nice and it was always higher than Paul's which was nice. But er, what else? That can go.
3. YouTube
Ohh YouTube to me you're a channel not a brand or a thing. You're a means to an end. I like you when I can find Premiership goals or music videos or Fireman Sam and I love it when clients want to use you because it makes so much sense. But. But. You're a channel. A means to an end.
4. Blog
Sorry blog, but you know what? It's just a bit of internet. As much as like doing this I don't take it all that seriously. You've probably noticed but I try and write from the hip without huge research and spell checking. This is not the International Herald Tribune - this is just a bit of internet.
5. Facebook
There are a lot of reasons to hate Facebook. It's hugely obtrusive for one. But I like it. If you don't let it get to you, if you say no to it every now and then - it's OK. And it's great for keeping in touch with people you don't see that often. People you don't share blogs, emails or twitters with. Long lost friends and relatives. It's a nice hassle free way of finding out what my cousins are doing, at my own pace.
6. Dopplr
I haven't blogged about Dopplr and I should have done. Dopplr stays because of the way it treats me. It's reverent, it's never in the way. It only asks for a tiny bit of my attention and it asks for it in a clear, polite way. I don't think it's ever emailed me, which is nice.
7. Bloglines
One of the best things about blogs is quickly scan reading a group of them. I don't really like Bloglines but it's sheer usefulness and it's reach means it's one of the last to go.
8. Flickr
I'd be very reluctant to get rid of Flickr. In fact I probably wouldn't get rid of it. I love Flickr. The 366 thing is really interesting and attracts a different crowd. The comments are always nice and helpful. It looks great. It's simple and unintrusive. It's great for family members home and abroad. It's useful, valuable and easy. IT NOW DOES VIDEO! Flickr I love you.
There are more, obviously, but that will do for now. I now tag all of you. Go ahead.
You stole my post! Curse you.
Posted by: russell | Apr 22, 2008 at 08:03
Ben
Are you public on Bloglines?
Would love to look up the blogs you read
Posted by: Nishad | Apr 22, 2008 at 08:08
You only got more readers because you blogged about interesting things.
Dopplr is for posers.
Posted by: Paul H. Colman | Apr 22, 2008 at 08:45
What's You Tubbe ?
Posted by: Tom | Apr 22, 2008 at 08:55
I'd drop Twitter like a hot brick. Oh, I already have. Who has the time? Well, lots and lots of people, apparently, but I haven't even had time to find out how it works properly. I love Facebook, and thought perhaps I could feed my FB status into Twitter automatically, but I can't. Well, I probably can, I just haven't had time to work it out yet.
What really irritates me is what I call Guilt2.0. I know I don't have time to keep tweeting and Digging and whatevering, but I know other interesting people are, and I'm alsmost certainly missing out. And some of these people have even chosen to 'follow' me, and I haven't tweeted at them in ages, and when I do it usually sounds so self-regarding and crap that I feel even more loathsome than I did about ignoring them. Occasionally I get texts from some bloke I signed up to follow as a test, and now when I'm on a bus going through Finsbury Park in the rain I get a text that says 'Just completed my first black run - yaaay!' and it just pisses me off even more.
Sorry, this has been waiting to come out for a while.
I absolutely love Flickr. I don't know what Dopplr is, although I've vaguely heard of it. More guilt.
Posted by: Mike Reed | Apr 22, 2008 at 09:14
Well, you've just made sure you'll get a truckload more 'friends' on all of these so they'll be after even more of your time!
Personally I couldn't live without Netvibes. Well, OK, maybe that's an exaggeration...
®
Posted by: Richard Holt | Apr 22, 2008 at 11:14
Satellite TV. Is that all part of this stuff ? What is THAT all about ?
Posted by: Tom | Apr 22, 2008 at 13:06
I think Mike touches on the important point here - is that it's not really the sites that are the issue - it's how they are used, and to what extent.
Posted by: Mark Hadfield | Apr 23, 2008 at 15:06
One thing that I find myself using more and more is my good ol' Amazon wishlist. No more do I have to rack my brain trying to remember what that book by whatshisname was, you know, that one with the thingy on the cover, that I spotted six months ago.
Also, Last.fm is great for keeping track of my listening habits - and you can get some good visual representations out of it with things like Lastgraph. The recomendations are hit-and-miss, but as I type this I'm discovering Moby's cover of New Order's Temptation, so I'm happy.
Posted by: Daniel | Apr 24, 2008 at 14:22
Ceefax is good.
Posted by: Tom | Apr 24, 2008 at 21:04
I also use zigime.com It is my favorite. I really like the look of the site. It looks very professional and the community is very friendly.
Posted by: social networking | Sep 17, 2008 at 17:41