So what did I find in my inbox this morning? A message from someone named Marty Baron, letting me know that he was following me on Twitter. Well, I started following him and sent him a private note to make sure it was really him.
As it turns out, it’s not Boston Globe editor Marty Baron, but someone pretending to be him. “It’s not me,” Baron told me by e-mail. Such gamesmanship is far from unusual on Twitter, though it looks like the normally savvy Adam Gaffin was taken in.
Why can’t everyone be as honest as Fake Rahm Emanuel?
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I must admit to being somewhat slow when it comes to New Things; soda still has ice cream in it and what the kids call soda is still tonic to me; and I think simultaneous red and yellow lights were far more effective at pedestrian crossings than walk lights (last days of one of the last remaining ‘red and yellow for walk’ arrays is fast approaching in Reading Square.)Therefore perhaps I come to this steeped in fuddocity, but I don’t “get” Twitter, don’t see its value and am not surprised that it is easily manipulated.
Amused: I don’t consider myself to be an evangelist for Twitter. I will say it’s one of those things that seems utterly useless until you start using it. Nor do I think it’s all that easy to manipulate. All you have to do is ask, as I did.
I have no excuse. I saw the weird tweets and thought it was just some guy experimenting with a new medium.I will hang my head in shame today!
I once came across a blogger claiming to be Werner Herzog. Turned out it was a Globe editor engaging in a bit of satire. I use Twitter, too, and still insist it’s stupid.
I try to stay tuned into to innovation and technology. But for a college professor teaching communications to a young audience, Tweeter is a necessity in a properly equipped tool box. Becoming aware of its faults and occupational hazards is a blessing.
NewsHound: Are college students using twitter? I know of many college professors tweeting, and I know of several courses about social networking, but the kids themselves?
Apparently ghost twittering is bigger than we think… at least for celebrities.
Ari: I find that some students are using Twitter, but not many. Mainly a professional and business tool for people in their 30s and older.
Ari – you can see from the above that Twitter is so new and innovative that earlier today Newshound didn’t even spell it correctly, not that Newshound is immune from making spelling and other mistakes from time to time with centuries old words, too. Young or old, I don’t think anyone can be passionate about the future of communications without being somewhat familiar with Twitter, and so far today I’ve learned how to spell it better.As for your question, you’ll note that Dan has most competently answered. In this case it is keeping up more with what is happening with older business people in their 30s, or so.