Comments on: Twitter rant number 1: shouldn't you be paying attention?

By: David Crotty

David Crotty — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 13:25:45 +0000

It ends as a question because I’m willing to be convinced otherwise. I’ve stated my general impression here, but I certainly could be wrong and am always open to learning something new.

By: Jay Rosen

Jay Rosen — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 12:59:53 +0000

“Are tools like Twitter really an improvement, or do they just pander to our increasingly short attention spans, our laziness (more on this in my next rant) and our need to be the center of attention at all times?”

Who do you end with a question? Undecided? Didn’t sound that way to me.

By: Science Spotlight - March 23rd, 2009 | Next Generation Science

Science Spotlight - March 23rd, 2009 | Next Generation Science — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 04:06:25 +0000

[...] Twitter rant number 1: shouldn’t you be paying attention? | Bench MarksThere are times when science shouldn’t be a conversation. David Crotty rants about people Twittering when they should be listening. Tags: blog, blogging, conversation, FriendFeed, listening, references, research, science, Science Spotlight, social networking, structured-thinking, tagging, twitter, zotero Technorati Tags: blog, blogging, conversation, FriendFeed, listening, references, research, science, Science Spotlight, social networking, structured-thinking, tagging, twitter, zotero (No Ratings Yet) Loading … Print Post Like this article? Next Generation Science delivers weekly articles on emerging technologies and tomorrow’s science. Join the community by subscribing (more). [...]

By: Richard Gayle

Richard Gayle — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 21:28:03 +0000

Great post. A lot of these hiccups will be worked out as we develop social conventions to deal with the new technologies. Figuring out what is rude and what is useful takes a little time.

Personally, I would have a real problem without a laptop to take notes. I’m on the board of a foundation and I post notes/attachments directly on our wiki during the meeting. Without a laptop and internet access, I would not be nearly as productive.

In fact, I am not sure I could even take notes longhand. At least not legible ones.

Of course, I am in my 50s and have spent a long time figuring out ways to take good notes. Students are not usually the best example. For them, I would suggest getting iTalk for their iPhones and simply recording the talk to listen to later.

An approach demonstrated in the movie Real Genius 24 (!) years ago.

By: Evelyn Jabri

Evelyn Jabri — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 15:50:58 +0000

Good point David. I do twitter and recently used it during a session as a mechanism to track the main points of the talk (no plug for a computer short on power and dead pen). Not sure I would repeat the experience as it was more distracting than simply taking notes on my computer. Twitter can be as useful as RSS, but I am particular about who I follow.

FYI – Bars and dinners are no longer twitter and IM free!! People use their devises to have sub-conversations (reminds me of clicks in junior high school when people would whisper to one another during larger conversations).

By: AJ Cann

AJ Cann — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 15:29:33 +0000

Hi David, here’s some homework for you on the topic of attention
http://delicious.com/AJCann/attention
Have you seen Howard Rheingold’s work in this area?