FTLOP on Twitter?

[jean p]

Just a quick question. Are there any plans for FTLOP to go on twitter? It would be nice to be able to track this site from there.

[Roy Hersh]

My wife has told me the same thing. But I am already on Facebook and have yet to hear the advantage of Twitter over FB. Convince me, I am keeping an open mind.

[Jeff G.]

twitter is for twatting

[Glenn E.]

My wife has told me the same thing. But I am already on Facebook and have yet to hear the advantage of Twitter over FB. Convince me, I am keeping an open mind.

Twitter does not preclude Facebook - you can set up your Facebook account to automatically post all of your tweets from your Twitter account. Once you have done that you then only need to create your posts on Twitter and they automatically show up on Facebook also. This broadens your audience by including the Twitterverse in your social media without reducing your Facebook footprint.

Note: Twitter posts (err... "tweets") are restricted to 140 characters, so if you need more space than that for any given post you'll still have to use Facebook to make those posts.

I have a Twitter account that I rarely use, but it's for a specific purpose - my parents do not (and should not) use Facebook so I set up their phones to receive my tweets. Any time I have a status update that I specifically want them to see, I use Twitter. Voila! It shows up on their phones and is also automatically posted to my Facebook feed at the same time.

[jean p]

I admit I don't post often on Twitter, but I find that's it tremendously helpful for keeping track of things that you are following, especially on mobile devices. I also like that you can track Twitter individual you are following even without logging in. For the person posting, Twitter is great for dropping tidbits of cool things they just saw that they want to notify people about but may not want to write blog or fb post for (eg. "drop-in tasting of 3 ports 10am today at the SAQ!") and a far nicer place to put spontaneous thoughts or url links you just saw and find interesting. Responses to the posts you make also tend to be rather quick, which creates an informal, lively atmosphere you usually don't find in blogs, forums, and fb.

I also personally find fb cumbersome for communicating things like this, since I use it more for maintaining social contact when I'm sitting somewhere static, usually at a workstation.

However, the choice to use Twitter or not at the end depends on how you want to communicate information on FTLOP and which way you want to take the site.

[Roy Hersh]

Jean,

Please know in advance that what I am about to type has NOTHING to do with you and is NOT aimed at you and is "somewhat" written in jest!


I know people are all a Twitter and I see these people walking around in the suburbs and cities around the USA and when I am visiting in Europe too, heads down, missing the crux of life while nose deep in their friend's latest Tweet about visiting some outhouse or eatery, discussing what they are doing at the moment as if it was so important to their "followers". Who cares?

Most of the meaningless drivel that appears on FB, no less Twitter is worthless mind wasting matter akin to spending three hours a day playing Angry Birds.

Now to get serious ... what can one really relay in just 140 characters, if that is indeed the proper number for the Twitter set!?!?!

I am luvin '77 Taylor in glass now. Gr8 VP.


If those following FTLOP are really going to get that excited by the above exclamation, I fear the world is lost and the nerds have won the war.

Yes, I realize I sound like an old curmudgeon in fear of embracing technology. Not the case, although I AM slow to warm up to some of it. That said, I was the first in the world to host an online LIVE wine chat room with people involved from four continents participating in an hour long show, on a weekly basis (for 5 years on WLDG) which began more than a decade ago and I was also part of a very lively online wine community more than 15 years ago, so I am not truly adverse to oeno-tech. But as with Angry Birds, there are better ways to spend life than looking into the mini-screen of an iDevice to find which friend just checked in to their local pub and finding what libation they've just ordered. I certainly don't want to do that to people. And absolutely NOT if I am limited to just wasting their time with ONLY 140 characters.

[Glenn E.]

If those following FTLOP are really going to get that excited by the above exclamation, I fear the world is lost and the nerds have won the war.

That quote is 144 characters including spaces. So as you can see, it is entirely possible to communicate in normal sentences via Twitter.

That response is 138 characters.

Twitter and Facebook are what you make of them. Yes, there is a lot of mindless drivel that gets posted on both, but there's also a lot of thoughtful commentary. I suppose it depends who your friends are (Facebook) or who you're following (Twitter).

[jean p]

Twitter and Facebook are what you make of them. Yes, there is a lot of mindless drivel that gets posted on both, but there's also a lot of thoughtful commentary. I suppose it depends who your friends are (Facebook) or who you're following (Twitter).

Exactly, there are things that can be expressed quickly in twitter. Still, using twitter it does not preclude prose or lengthier and more detailed explanations. These can be placed in a blog and linked through a url on twitter, which is what many people do.

Again, it depends on what one wants to do.

[Eric Menchen]

Home sick tday; reading FTLOP.

[Roy Hersh]

Eric,

Stop tweeting and get better soon. A glass of Port a day ... is better than an apple.