Whither Twitter?

I've removed my Twitters from my blog, but left the link for my Twitter page available.

Part of the reason was technical-- Twitter's popularity sometimes exceeds its ability to display information in a timely manner, and if it causes my page to load too slowly, I have to jettison it.

Another reason might be construed as more of a "marketing strategy." In Twitter, the number of people "following" your twitter feed says something about how popular/significant your twitter feed is-- it's a "social networking" thing. By displaying all my twitters on my blog where anyone could see it, there was never any reason for anyone to sign up for Twitter to "follow" me. (cf. Free Milk and a Cow) So, if someone really wants to see what I'm twittering about, they can do so through the "Twitter feed" link, sign up for a Twitter account and "follow" me.

The final reason is personal-- I like having some idea of who is following me and the *possibility* of controlling who reads my twitters. At the moment, it's wide open because I generally prefer to be that way. Unfortunately, in the past I've had to deal with a stalking ex-girlfriend and griefers-- if that should happen again, I'd like to be able to click a button and make sure that only people I choose can see what I express in my 140 character outbursts.

Twitter, micro-blogging, etc.

Yeah, I could have written about Day 4 of my DST fitness plan, but let's be honest-- it gets old real quick and no one cares about my workout routine THAT much.

Let's talk about twitter instead. I don't really *get* twitter. I know lots of people use it, and I use it myself half-heartedly. But I don't understand the widespread appeal of it.

I mean, I remember reading just a few short years ago a parody of a blogger who obsessively blogged every little detail of his life.

9:53 AM

Lost my pencil.

9:55 AM

Found my pencil.

10:02 AM

I sneezed.

We used to ridicule people who had blogs like that, you know? Now, it seems as if Twitter and other microblogging platforms are "social networking" tools. For instance, I can say "going to open mic night at Firehouse Grill in Fairfax"-- and everyone who follows my twitter feed will see where I'm headed and has the option of joining me there. (Yes, this assumes that I actually have people who follow my Twitter feed and that they are local, but you get the idea.)

When did "microblogging" suddenly grow up and become the cool kid on the block? Where are the people who once mocked microblogging now? Has their opinion changed any in light of recent events?

And, most importantly, will I ever find a way to add comments or trackbacks to my blog in a way that doesn't create invalid HTML?