Hey, it’s Laurie. Okay, okay, I confess . . . I’m not a tweeter. I know it won’t last, but for now I’m contented to sit on the twittering sidelines, because, honestly, I can’t think who could possibly care about my life’s minutiae.
Another reason I’m reluctant to jump onto this particular band wagon is a sort of vestigial suspicion I have about people knowing too much about me and my business. It all just seems a little big-brothery to me. I think it’s the pseudo-privacy of the medium: You know you’re communicating with your Twitter followers, however many they may be, but the experience is still solitary, like whispering into a microphone that is broadcasting to the world. You don’t really know how many people are tuning in, and probably more importantly, who they are. Just skeeves me out a little.
BUT! I am fascinated by the fact that Twitter is changing how business is done. Check out this NY Times article about the ways that companies are “listening” to customers to not only learn about their preferences, but also to tap into the nuances of the marketplace.
I’m just more than a little ambivalent about Starbucks, Whole Foods and Amazon sniffing around my virtual self to find out how I take my coffee, buy my groceries and read my books.