Bubble 2.0
Everytime I hear the term Web 2.0, I feel like reaching for my revolver. The term is little more than a marketing label applied to bunch of technologies which have been around for years, and which the marketing and venture capitalist folks have only now begun to pay attention to. It’s being hyped by the evangelists as a revolution, but I think evolution is a more appropriate description and that’s pushing it.
The latest Web 2.0 fad is Twitter - an online service that allows any narcissist to broadcast to the entire world what they are currently up to. If you thought blogging was bad, this takes the trend of online narcisism to it’s extreme. I don’t actually claim to be completely innocent of that myself - I wouldn’t have this blog if I wasn’t - but it is comforting to know there are people out there who are clearly worse that I will ever be.
Michele Neylon puts the Twitter fad in perspective:
I’m really sick of all these web 2.0 fanboys. It’s like the dotcom boom with slightly older people, or something.
Don’t get me wrong. Some of the web applications and services are really cool AND useful. They may even have a business plan behind them so that they’ll actually be around in 6 months time ….
Twitter (it doesn’t even deserve a link!) simply isn’t.
It’s probably the biggest waste of time I’ve come across in years.
Does anyone really give a damn what other people are doing all the time.
“I just got up”
“I made coffee”
“My girlfriend is having morning sickness” - stop the lights!! Headline news!
Naturally this has had some twitterers in a twitch defending their latest obsession - proving correct the old adage, that every absurdity has a champion who will defend it.
If you don’t like it, “then fucking don’t subscribe”
Indeed we won’t. But that doesn’t mean we still can’t have fun taking the piss out of it. Any group of people who consciously refer to themselves as ‘twits’ really do need to take a step back to gain some perspective on the situation.
“I’m bored at work”
“I’m on the bus home”
“I’m taking a dump”
“I’m having a Pot Noodle”
“I’m having a wank”
Twitter supports txt messenging, so it is actually possible to send updates about your current whereabouts from the throne if you are so inclined.
Apparently the founders of Twitter are really pleased with the websites success. In their finest Valley Girl slang, they mention on their blog: “We totally won the SXSW Web Awards last Sunday! “