Twitter isn't meaningful communication?

Yeah. Yet another Twitter post. But trust me, this one's worth it.
Lots of juice. With pulp.

So let's just get things started:

"Twitter isn’t meaningful communication."

Where's the laughing emoticon when you need it? Someone really said that. And because it ranks right up there with the Best of the Worst Tech Predictions Known To Man, I figured I’d dig up a few others to emphasize how quickly some “industry experts” clamor to be the voice of reason when technology starts seeming a bit too sci-fi for them.


“I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.”
Thomas Watson, president of IBM, 1943


“Television won’t be able to hold on to any market it captures after the first six months. People will soon get tired of staring at a plywood box every night.”
Darryl Zanuck, executive at 20th Century Fox, 1946


“There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home.”
Ken Olsen, founder of Digital Equipment Corp., 1977


“Apple is already dead.”
Nathan Myhrvold, former Microsoft chief technology officer, 1997


“I predict the Internet will soon go spectacularly supernova and in 1996 catastrophically collapse.”
Robert Metcalfe, founder of 3Com, 1995


“[The] ‘telephone’ has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us.”
Western Union, 1879


“I have traveled the length and breadth of this country and talked with the best people, and I can assure you that data processing is a fad that won’t last out the year.”
Prentice Hall (Publishing), 1957


And now we present for your enjoyment:

“Twitter isn’t meaningful communication.”


I actually came across this on the Daily Beast blog site. You should read the blog. http://tinyurl.com/cdjr6f. Good times.

Given Twitter’s sheer ability to allow people to communicate and access RELEVANT INTERESTING CONCISE information in real time, it’s hard to believe anyone who’s given an honest five minutes to Twitter could bash it with a straight face.

What it comes down to is that there’s a lot going on with social media right now. You’ve got the people who are adapting on one side of the fence, and the ones that are behind the curve on the other. Instead of stepping over and catching up, some of the traditionalists are trying to hide behind their comfy blogs, hoping by denouncing anything they don't immediately understand they can just make it all go away. I mean seriously, the last couple of “anti-social media” blogs I’ve come across have sounded more like overwhelmed rants than astute observations. I think deep down they know something's coming, but they're just not ready to make all the huge, sweeping changes that come along with it.

It’s starting to seem like the issue is less about the product and more about operator error. I think the next time I come across a blog that rants against social media I’ll post something in the comments that’s simple and easy for them to comprehend:

Adaption FAIL.