Comments on: identi.ca vs. twitter

By: I learn about news events mostly from Twitter « Seek Nuance

I learn about news events mostly from Twitter « Seek Nuance — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 17:03:32 +0000

[...] I grew up on newspapers, like everyone else in my ahem age bracket. By 2002, I was getting more news from web sites, and began relying on RSS feeds in mid-2005. I started using Twitter in 2009. [...]

By: Ben

Ben — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 15:49:39 +0000

Partly because when you message, there’s a tag – I like to see tags that say ‘from identi.ca’ or ‘from identibash’ or ‘from Gwibber’ or ‘from Gnome-Do’ – there’s a big part of it I guess.

I only post to identi.ca – broadcast on Twitter is automatic, and so as an identi.ca user I don’t miss out on Twitter contacts. If I want things to quiet down a lot, to my very local band of users, then I stop listening to Twitter. Perhaps this wouldn’t suit you, but I think that Twitter will be spammed out before identi.ca – and you can’t take your contacts with you if you change.

I like to visit the Bangkok Hilton, but I do not wish to join the inmates.

By: John

John — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 15:19:32 +0000

I assume you’re using a multi-platform client because you need to communicate with users on different platforms. So, some people you follow, or want to follow you, use only identi.ca.

You argue that I should use identi.ca for philosophical reasons. As I’ve written, that’s what I was initially doing. But I don’t care to have multiple micro-blogging accounts, and the complications (however minor) that follow. Given that everyone’s on Twitter, why should I increase my software complexity by any amount? There’s zero return for my effort. The answer, which you’ve said, is to do it for the betterment of open-source.

But how does using identi.ca do that? You’re using identi.ca and Twitter, because you want to “support choice as much as I can.” That’s great, but I’m fuzzy on how your being available on both platforms advances identi.ca. Anyone who wants to follow you can find you on Twitter, right? So I don’t need an identi.ca account to follow you. I’m curious how your posting to two systems helps identi.ca.

By: Ben

Ben — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 09:08:30 +0000

Fragmentation is created by Twitter being CLOSED – however I hardly find it complicated to type my login ben2talk and password two times – the replies all return in the same fashion and the actual platform is irrelevent – e-mail is for direct communication, whereas microblogging for something completely different. I see no problem if my messages come in from Identi.ca or Twitter. The general attitude that ‘Everyone’s on Twitter, so let’s not bother with anything else’ will simply make other clients close down and eliminate choice.

I think you should use Windows XP and refrain from using any other operating system – it’s too complicated okay? For me, however, I’ll use whatever platform I require to do the job, and will maintain as much choice and support CHOICE as much as I can – for it is choice that is making the world an incredibly inventive and excellent place to live.

By: John

John — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 00:57:12 +0000

You’ve elected to complicate your micro-blogging life by posting to two services. That’s something I won’t elect, and don’t need, to do. If my micro-social world were fragmented across multiple services, and the only way to be heard by all my requisite audience was to register and post using multiple services, I’d do that. But everyone I care to tweet/dent/whatever to has a Twitter account. Because: Twitter launched micro-blogging, it’s continued to innovate, it has all the features, it’s free, and it works well enough (at least well enough) for free.

Yes, I could use a reader application that reads from multiple services. But that’s another complication that I don’t need, because everyone I care to follow is on Twitter.

Implicit in my position, which perhaps I should have laid out clearly, is that micro-blogging isn’t my primary online communication interchange. It’s fourth on the list, depending on how you want to measure these things, coming after e-mail, web, and syndication. (It’s not dead last. Mobile’s last.) So, I balance my need for some level of micro-blogging connection against complicating my software world, and conclude that using just Twitter is the right thing.

By: Ben

Ben — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 08:39:33 +0000

I fail to see the need to ‘Switch’.

Personally, whenever I post, I tweet and dent simultaneously. I use ‘Gwibber’ primarily to keep track of things, though I do get a small pop up when messages come in also.

I generally tweet from identica – so you can follow me on Twitter, and you can see me on Twitter, but I am really using identi.ca – and when Twitter comes down, I don’t lose the whole shebang.

What you’re doing is supporting ONLY Twitter, which is a strange and defeatist attitude. Next you’ll be changing to Windows, because Mac is for a minority group too isn’t it?