Twitter Myths

Sat 13 Jun 2009 21:30:02 | 3 comments
I'm writing a magazine article addressing the myths & objections learning professionals have about Twitter. While I will address the larger issue of enterprise-weight Twitter tools, I'm focusing first on Twitter itself.

Here is my working list. I have more in various places (for instance the last #lrnchat transcript) I'll add to this list, but I wanted to put these out for you asap. Would you let me know if there are big myths I've missed, especially related to those in L&D roles? I won't address all of the issues listed here, but I want to at least feel like I'm not missing anything BIG.

I have too much to write. I could never get it into 140 characters, or if I did, it would be 100 separate posts.
I don’t have time.
My company forbids its use so therefore I can't participate.
There’s nothing to learn on Twitter.
No way to design sound instruction using it.
It’s just goofing off, nothing serious here. I don't care what people eat for lunch.
I don’t know how to do it. There are rules I could never master.
There’s very little business value. My business is too important to play around with Twitter.
It takes too long to realize any ROI.
It’s already too late for me and my business/department/brand to get involved in Twitter.
People participating on Twitter have far too much time on their hands.
Even if there were business value, it doesn’t apply to *my* business, my department.
If we used Twitter, my consultants would be picked off by our competitors or clients.

---- Additions since original post -------------
I have nothing to say (thx Aaron, who thankfully has plenty of great things to say)
All people care about is getting more follows.
It blunts your moral sense.
It's a fad.
Everything goes by too fast for me. I appreciate learning slowly, at my own pace.
It's only for narcissists.
I have enough interruptions already.
Like all social networks, it's a breeding ground for more unionizing.
It's too informal for me. I prefer formal communication at work.
Gets in the way of real life with real people.
"What are you doing now" is a misleading question. Most people don't even answer that question.
People are forgetting how to just talk to each other.
Is nothing private anymore?
It will open my company up for a giant law suit.
A study claims that 60% of Twitter accounts are dormant. I don't need one more unfinished project.


Comments

"I have nothing to say." I hear that one more than any of these inside my organization, especially from leaders. I'm interpreting this as "I don't know what to say, what I *can* say or *how* to say it that won't make me look bad." I generally think of this as etiquette, and my partner at work and I are starting to put together an in-person session to address it. I'll let you know if it helps, and what we end up doing.
---- Additions since original post ------------- I have nothing to say (thx Aaron, who thankfully has plenty of great things to say) All people care about is getting more follows. It blunts your moral sense. It's a fad. Everything goes by too fast for me. I appreciate learning slowly, at my own pace. It's only for narcissists. I have enough interruptions already. Like all social networks, it's a breeding ground for more unionizing. It's too informal for me. I prefer formal communication at work. Gets in the way of real life with real people. "What are you doing now" is a misleading question. Most people don't even answer that question. People are forgetting how to just talk to each other. Is nothing private anymore? It will open my company up for a giant law suit. A study claims that 60% of Twitter accounts are dormant. I don't need one more unfinished project.
I posted these in another thread - most are still relevant here:- - [wikis] what if someone posts something inappropriate? - Who is going to maintain this stuff - You mean you want me to start reading/writing/... as well as doing all my other work? - How are we supposed to find the time? - But what's the point of [...]?



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