Though I’m not a big fan of Twitter, and use it only to announce new posts, many people follow it obsessively. So I am compelled to announce that, in case you don’t know it, Richard Dawkins has a Twitter account, where he posts both personal and professional stuff.
Dawkins tweets
July 14, 2012 • 8:08 am
I still refuse to get a Twitter account. Communicating at 140 characters per thought is a game I am not willing to play. I also do not wish to be a ‘groupie’ who follows the sound byte pronouncements of other people and especially the often malformed thoughts of their followers.
I held out against Twitter for a long time for that reason, but once I gave in, I found that it does have its uses. It’s not much good for conversation, much less debate, but I use it as a kind of scratchpad to quickly store links and jot down ideas I may want to revisit later.
I agree with Adam Lee. I have found some good limited use of Twitter, mostly just to follow a few blogs I like. It is actually very useful to me in that way. I rarely tweet anything myself.
I think this is true of many of the emerging technologies – they sometimes seem kind of pointless or self-indulgent, but often times we see some real utility begin to emerge as people develop creative ways to work with them.
Just because something is popular doesn’t mean it’s bad. It might be popular because it works. Trying it, making your mind up based on that, and then deciding to quit, is all fair stuff. If you’re rejecting tools because of what you suppose them to be, because the notion of what they are, or who uses them, or how popularist they are, offends your rationality, then perhaps you’re not assessing it rationally yourself: http://ronmurp.net/2012/07/15/what-the-tweet/
I’m sure this will hell Richard in his Sisyphean task if improving public understanding of biology…but I still don’t at all see the point in twittering. Hell, a hundred and fifty characters is hardly even enough for me to say my name, let alone get out a proper introduction.
Then again, I’m equally baffled by the whole SpaceFaceLife social media fad, so I’m sure I’m not the best one to consult on such matters….
Cheers,
b&
I’m also sure the the iPad is help to type on, and doesn’t hell with effective communication very much….
b&
Very witty recovery from a typo. Are you a stand-up comedian in real life?
HA! But thank you…no, I’ve never done stand-up. I don’t think anywhere near fast enough on my feet.
b&
is it actually him tweeting? or is someone tweeting on his behalf?
What difference does it make?
Well, it’d tell us where he falls on the hip grandpa / cynical curmudgeon scale….
b&
I’m more a woofer than a tweeter.
+1
I’d wondered the same things. It seems to be mostly posting what is ending up on richarddawkins.net.
However there definitely are a few personal ones in there also.
For what it’s worth, Dawkins has not “just begun” a twitter account. It has over 5,000 posts already.
Er no, not 5,000. More like 400,000. So, as you correctly deduce, it is not just started. But hitherto I have had little personal input. The account has been used more or less automatically to call attention to items of interest on RichardDawkins.net. But this week I decided to contribute to it personally, and that is what Jerry is referring to in starting this thread.
And I, for one, am very grateful that you put your thoughts out there, Prof. Dawkins. I see it as a very good cement for your fans and the Atheist community at large.
Thanks a lot!
Richard, the comment regarded the c. 5000 tweets (posts). You responded addressing the followers, c. 400,000 !
To be noted that this is the same Twitter in which he (assuming it wasn’t a staffer) took an odd dig at Rebecca Watson and anti-harassment policies earlier in the week.
It was all very strange.
Problem?
I don’t want to get involved in this drama and I know Jerry wouldn’t allow on his website anyway. Though I do feel the need to defend Richard here as he was just starting an anti-stoning campaign when it got buried by this drama. I think that was the only reason he dipped his toe in all the mess. I can certainly see where his frustration comes from as that was such an important human rights issue. Just bad timing and the way the internet works I guess, hopefully he will start it up again and we can all get behind it.
+1000, David.
I have a Twitter account since several years. I resent Twitter though. I think most people are superficial enough without having to enforce it. And superficiality is what one gets in 140 characters or less.
I just had a look. It seems that I have been following Both Jerry Coyne and Richard Dawkins for a while. I forgot all about it, since I hardly ever visit Twitter in the first place.