Twitter...

[amateriat]

Bill, I'd buy you a non-virtual round of we were within hailing distance of each other. 😉

Even having a simple blog can be a tad oppressive. "You haven't updated the thing in weeks!" I get told. (Guess I should be glad anybody cares?) All I can think of at that moment is a David Byrne line from "Psycho Killer":

When I have nothing to say
My lips are sealed
Say something once
Why say it again?

Doesn't cut a lot of ice in the blogosphere, but it works for me.


- Barrettt

 

[funkaoshi]

bmattock, you have a lot to say about twitter for someone who doesn't care about it.

 

[Matt(1pt4)]

'Short attention span?'

Yep. What we were talking about?

 

[skeletron]

I hate to contribute to steering my own thread OT, but:

What makes you critics think that sharing your opinions on a camera forum is any less narcissistic and banal than sharing them on a blog or Twitter or Facebook or any other public forum?

 

[amateriat]

So, anyway... Back to the intent of my original thread before it vanished: anyone here know of any interesting photographers on Twitter? I've found a few local art groups, none of which are directly related to photography or even update all that often.

I can't speak for Twitter, of course, but the way I often discover photographers is via the websites/blogs by other photographers I know and/or admire. That, and checking out local exhibits when I can. I simply don't have the time or patience to "cold-sift" through a huge networking site for potentially interesting stuff, especially when the signal/noise ratio isn't too favorable.

(Also, there's a hell of a lot of good photography right here. I'm actually taking more time out to check out the Gallery. It's worth it.)



- Barrett

 

[skeletron]

I can't speak for Twitter, of course, but the way I often discover photographers is via the websites/blogs by other photographers I know and/or admire. That, and checking out local exhibits when I can. I simply don't have the time or patience to "cold-sift" through a huge networking site for potentially interesting stuff, especially when the signal/noise ratio isn't too favorable.

(Also, there's a hell of a lot of good photography right here. I'm actually taking more time out to check out the Gallery. It's worth it.)



- Barrett

I agree. There are more than a few sites, amateur and professional, I've found through contributions to this site that I've bookmarked and look at regularly.

And I do attend the rare local exhibit. Unfortunately, they're poorly marketed, usually relying on word-of-mouth and I'm usually not in the loop.

On top of that, I grew up with information overload and actually enjoy the torrent of posts I can scan through in a minute while waiting for my lunch order to show up. I just thought it'd be nice to throw in something about photography in between updates from Slashdot and NASA and the dozen or so other streams I subscribe to.

 

[bmattock]

bmattock, you have a lot to say about twitter for someone who doesn't care about it.

Good point!

I guess it puts me in mind of all the stuff that is like it, most of which I downright detest.

Day by day, I see drivers blowing off red lights, failing to pull over for ambulances, they've always got that glowing THING in their ears. People I know who have one piss me off. I'm walking down the hall towards them at work, and they make eye contact and start to talk and I think they're talking to me - but no, they're talking on that THING. I want to smack them right in the freaking melon.

And I think it takes a certain type - I'd be embarrassed if someone complained that I had done that to them - they are universally non-plussed, they have NO IDEA that what they do is offensive to others.

I go to meetings, everyone has their laptop plugged in, people are texting and twittering and playing pocket pool for all I know and someone is asked a question and the person goes "Huh?" Great. Yeah, now tell me how this all increases productivity.

My boss tries to text me on my cell phone. He complains I don't respond to his texts. I say "Then call me." He says, "But I texted you!" I reply, "Oh, I ignore those. CALL ME if you want to talk to me." "But you don't always answer!" That would be because I'm either busy or don't want to be disturbed. Leave a message. Texting assumes you will respond RIGHT NOW. My answer? My machines are my slaves, not the other way around.

I watched in horror and disbelief as my niece sat hunched over her phone, texting her boyfriend at our grandmother's funeral. I've seen guys texting in church, women talking on their bluetooth as well.

At grocery stores now - women blocking up the aisles, chatting in some group conversation over the price of a freaking can of soup they're standing in front of, I can't get by, they can't even see me - they're plugged into their machines and totally oblivious.

And I'm no luddite. I work in IT. I had my first Internet dial in account in 1985, I was on before there was even a web, there were only 2,000 Usenet groups at the time (I know, what's Usenet?). I do digital and film cameras, I tag my photos with GPS geotags, I code in Perl to keep track of my photos on my hard drives and upload to Flickr using the API.

But all my technology works for me. I refuse to work for it.

 

[bmattock]

I hate to contribute to steering my own thread OT, but:

What makes you critics think that sharing your opinions on a camera forum is any less narcissistic and banal than sharing them on a blog or Twitter or Facebook or any other public forum?

Who says they aren't all narcissistic and banal?

The difference between RFF and Twitter is the difference between a magazine letter-to-the-editor and a pop-up annoyware advertisement.

Either can contain useful information - or not. It's not the content, it's how it is presented.

 

[bmattock]

Bill, I'd buy you a non-virtual round of we were within hailing distance of each other. 😉

I'll take you up on that sometime. I still visit America House in Manhattan from time to time.

All I can think of at that moment is a David Byrne line from "Psycho Killer":

When I have nothing to say
My lips are sealed
Say something once
Why say it again?

I have a good friend who claims that as his favorite quote. He's like that - if you say 'huh' because you weren't listening when he was speaking to you, you won't hear it again.

 

[skeletron]

Who says they aren't all narcissistic and banal?

That was kinda my point.

The difference between RFF and Twitter is the difference between a magazine letter-to-the-editor and a pop-up annoyware advertisement.

Either can contain useful information - or not. It's not the content, it's how it is presented.

I'm not sure I'm following your point. Both contain equal potential for the banal and the interesting.

 

[bmattock]

I'm not sure I'm following your point. Both contain equal potential for the banal and the interesting.

The Bible has good stuff in it. The guy who shouts Bible verses at me on the street corner is saying the same stuff, but I really don't care for the way he goes about it.

Content is great - delivery is also important. Shout at me if my head is on fire. Don't shout at me to tell me you just had lunch.

 

[skeletron]

That's not really an accurate comparison. I select the content to which I wish to be exposed. If I'm not interested in what so-and-so had for lunch, for example, then I elect to not receive posts from them.

 

[Chris101]

But what about when they're telling you your head is on fire?

 

[skeletron]

@mybody keeps me updated on head fires.

 

[bmattock]

That's not really an accurate comparison. I select the content to which I wish to be exposed. If I'm not interested in what so-and-so had for lunch, for example, then I elect to not receive posts from them.

But it is still instant and insistent. It is ephemeral and fleeting, not persistent. It is a stream and not a database. It is television and not a book. To be useful, it must be fresh. To be fresh, it must send and receive in real-time. And that demands my attention - when I don't wish to give it.

Twitter says "What you're doing - right now."

That's the whole premise. I don't care what you're doing right now, or anybody else, for that matter. Nor do I expect them to care what I'm doing, or to share what I'm doing with anyone. There is nothing I need to know that urgently, and most of the ephemera of other's lives are not things I care to know ever.

RFF and discussion forums like it are passive and not real-time. They are repositories and not fleeting. I prefer things that way - puts them on my agenda, not the other way around.

 

[bmattock]

But what about when they're telling you your head is on fire?

Then the data is lost because the stream has already been redirected to /dev/null.

Boy who cried 'wolf' and all that. When people press the shiny red button to get my attention, they get it - unless they do it non-stop. Twitter is non-stop shouting.

 

[Matt(1pt4)]

@mybody keeps me updated on head fires.

OK, raise your hands. How many of you got that joke?

 

[bmattock]

OK, raise your hands. How many of you got that joke?

Anybody who knows how an RSS feed or Twitter work, I guess.

/s/

@wigwam

 

[emraphoto]

i am one of those blackberry folks... incessantly checking. i get messages like "large protest over violence in sri lanka, 2 pm images needed c.p.i." or "sterling trucks factory new conference re: closure, images needed a.p."

one of the most important pieces of advice i received when going totally freelance (i believe bruno barbey? don't quote me on that) was have a phone. always, always, always answer your calls and email asap!

horses for courses i suppose

 

[bmattock]

one of the most important pieces of advice i received when going totally freelance (i believe bruno barbey? don't quote me on that) was have a phone. always, always, always answer your calls and email asap!

If you are freelance, I fully understand. Calling back tomorrow is the same as saying "hire someone else." I'm not freelance because I that's not how I roll.

As you said - horses for courses.