Leaving Time for Reflection
I’m still processing the implications of Michael Arrington’s Twitter post TechCrunch today; or perhaps more accurately the reader response to it. The post features a single word - Twitter! - with no other content to speak of whatsoever. Despite this the post has received 345 comments (as of this post) and what appears to be a series of interwoven discussion threads.
I’m in two minds about all this - one part curious, the other concerned.
The Curiosity
The curiosity stems from the fundamental question why a post that offers no substance whatsoever can allegedly earn the title of TechCrunch’s most commented entry. Certainly TechCrunch has the reader-base to drive this sort of response, but what is it that motivates the impassioned participation in the first place?
Is this a reaction to the flood of Twitter posts - many of them critical - that have emerged over the last few days? Is it a rally cry of support for the battered application by its remaining allies? Is it the novelty of an extraordinarily minimalistic offering from the influential A-list tech blog? Or is it perhaps one of those strange idiosyncrasies of new media popular culture that defies explanation, in which the masses converge upon a unified focal point for a brief glimpse of time for no apparent reason and then disappear just as quickly?
The Concerns
The concerns I mentioned are not about this post specifically, but rather the notion of the wider relationship between discussions and the ideas which inspire and drive them.
There is little doubt that users of new media share a passionate propensity for discussion, however my fear is that undercurrents in usage habits are driving the online community to shorter and less in-depth trains of thought. The response to Arrington’s post seems to reflect this theory, as does the increasing popularity of Twitter, and aggregation-commenting services like FriendFeed.
Certainly discussion is important, but so too is letting ideas adequately solidify and taking the time to explore them to their fullest potential.
This is why I continue to blog. Twitter and blog commenting are both fantastic for interactivity and the dynamic exchange of ideas, but at the end of the day it’s crucial that users take the time to process the fruits of their discussions and the information they’ve amassed.
My concern is that, if current rapid discursive trends in internet usage continue, and discussions via comments or posts of no more than 140 characters become the norm, in-depth reflective contemplation and slow, considered expression of thought will never take place.
By all means discuss, comment and chat; but remember it should be combined with time for personal reflection. If we are to personally benefit from the collective mind and/or input of our fellows we must give ourselves adequate time to come to our own conclusions.
One thing is clear in all this: Twitter is firmly entrenched in the forefront front of the tech-sector’s consciousness. As to whether this reflects positive or negative perceptions is another matter though.
References:
- “Twitter!“, Michael Arrington, TechCrunch, 25 May 2008
