A few musings on Twitter

I’ve found in recent months that the more I use Twitter the more I see patterns emerging in the way and the reasons not only how I use it, but the ways other people conduct themselves as well. And as someone that is mostly fascinated, but occasionally horrified by human nature it is a never ending source of interest. So these are a few of my musings about the main things that I’ve seen.

I think like most people I joined Twitter to see what all the fuss was about and then pretty much stalled as we all do, when after following a few of the celebrities you’ve heard are on twitter or a few news reports, you fail to interact with anyone and give it up as a bad job. Months ago “The 46 Stages of Twitter” was posted and as it sums up my experience so accurately, I’ve included it here. I’m not sure whether the link will work so I’ll include the piece in full at the end. As a disclaimer I would also add that this has not been written by me and I’ve provided the source of the post in order to credit the author.

http://thechrisvossshow.com/the-46-stages-of-twitter/

Twitter then came into its own for me as it so often does, when I discovered that something I was interested and followed and watched obsessively where I could, was shared by other people. And for those of you that know me, you’re not going to be surprised when I say that this was tennis, specifically Wimbledon. In 2010 for the first time in many years I didn’t attend the tournament, not only because I didn’t get tickets in the ballot, but also because the renovations underway at the grounds meant that both Courts 3 and 4 would not be ready for the 2010 championships, thereby limiting the number of ground passes available for those queuing, i.e. me. The photograph here depicts the start of the renovations after the 2009 tournament; the new number 2 Court which opened in 2009 is in the distance.




So I booked the 2 weeks off as usual but spent the majority of the time on the sofa with both the TV and the pc to ensure I didn’t miss anything. Friends, family and work colleagues thought I was mad but I soon realised that I wasn’t alone and despite not going, thanks to Twitter the 2010 Wimbledon became much more fun and interesting than it had ever been.

Despite this new awareness, I found that it wasn’t until I changed my phone and started using the Twitter app on a daily basis, that I really started to get into Twitter and now quite frankly I’m not sure that I could ever live without it. I admit that tennis is still one of my main obsessions and at least half of the people I follow are tennis fans who are equally if not more passionate and enthusiastic and usually loads more knowledgeable than I am, so I find it a never-ending source of enjoyment. However I’m also interested in a vast array of other things, am endlessly curious and interested in other people and over time I’ve built a list of people to follow to reflect that, so my day-to-day timeline is always absorbing.

One of the other things I’ve noticed that I’m not sure I’m particularly comfortable with is the addiction some people have to amassing a huge number of followers. In fact people who are not on twitter are obsessed with this as well and although I know approximately on any given day how many followers I have, it’s the days when I don’t have many @mentions, that I find I’m slightly disappointed but this is usually because I’ve had limited time or have tweeted sporadically. I forget to routinely check my number of followers; on the app I use on my phone and this information is not on the main page so unless I go into my profile I don’t see it, unlike the website which contains the number on the home page. And I only use the website when I want to tidy up my Favourites which brings me onto my next musing.

I use Favourites primarily as a bookmark to save tweets to view when I have more time, for example links to news articles, blogs, pictures of photos; all which are easier to read on the pc rather than the phone. I also save those tweets of interest that I may want to refer to later or point someone else in the direction of, as well as those nuggets of wisdom that have interested or amused me. It’s not private nor do I have any secrets and it is intriguing to learn that now there are software programmes notifying the author of the tweet when it has been favourited. However a recent random comment made me look at someone else’s favourite entries and I have to admit that I felt slightly intrusive when I did this, as if I was rummaging though their private papers. I’m not sure if this is weird, or if I’m alone in feeling this way; for those tweeters that want to keep their lives private, their accounts are protected so all information is for public viewing anyway.

So moving onto followers, I have to say that there are some habits I really just don’t get and which actually on occasion frustrate me. These tend to fall into two categories: those that engage with you, have conversations with you but never, never follow you and then there are those who will follow you, after you have followed them, but no matter how many times you respond to their tweets and questions, they never answer you back. So why follow in the first place if you prefer to talk to a small group of people and don’t want to widen your circle of interest and interaction? It baffles me. I realise that there are many people who over time I’ve had conversations with but haven’t spoken to for ages for whatever reason, but I know that if I see them in my timeline I can say hello and I’ll enjoy talking to them again.
My grandfather used to say, “theres nowt as queer as folk lass” and I realise he was probably right.

So last topic of this list of musings has to be the Twitter crush and this is one of my favourite aspects of Twitter. I think I have observed over the last few months at least six of these between people who I don’t think have met or knew each other before joining Twitter and I find it somewhat endearing, particularly when I both admire and follow those involved. And if you’re wondering, yes I have to admit to having a couple of Twitter crushes, completely unrequited I hasten to add and I would never want more, but I experience a little thrill whenever I see them in my timeline or they respond to one of my tweets and I love everything they write.

So there you go, Twitter for me has been a hugely entertaining and amusing pastime and I hope it will continue.

The 46 stages of Twitter (Originally published by shanenickerson.com)
1. Hear the word Twitter. Scoff.
2. Hear it again from someone else. Scoff again.
3. Hear about famous celebrity who is apparently “On Twitter.” Scoff, but make mental note to check it out.
4. Log into Facebook to comfort self.
5. Sign up for Twitter.
6. Give up because it seems dumb.
7. Loudly criticize others on Twitter.
8. Follow @johncmayer, @aplusk, @rainnwilson, @wilw, @mrskutcher, @oprah, and one other person you actually know.
9. Post tweet that is a variant of: “Trying out this Twitter thing.”
10. Attempt to dig a little deeper into Twitter.
11. Notice rampant usage of words: “Tweet,” “Twitter,” “Twitterverse,” “Tweetie,” “Tweetdeck,” and something called “RT.”
12. Scoff again, this time in confusion.
13. Tell friends you “tried that Twitter thing, but didn’t get it and it’s stupid anyway.”
14. Log into Facebook because that site at least makes sense.
15. Read story about Twitter somewhere.
16. Log back into Twitter.
17. Try to avoid saying Tweet, Twitter, Twitterverse, Tweetie, Tweetdeck, and ReTweet.
18. Respond to @rainnwilson.
19. Curse self for fanning out.
20. Log off for 4 months.
21. Come back, just to see.
22. Post something relatively funny.
23. Get RT’d.
24. Discover that RT means ReTweet.
25. Make it your life mission to get RT’d.
26. Install Twitter app on your phone.
27. No longer ashamed to say “I’ve gotta Twitter that.”
28. Attend events with the sole intention of “Tweeting” them.
29. Pray to get RT’d.
30. Refresh. Refresh. Refresh. Refresh. Refresh.
31. Close computer.
32. Open computer. Refresh. Refresh. Refresh.
33. Think in 140 character sentences.
34. Compulsively check phone all day every day.
35. Tweet that you compulsively check phone all day every day.
36. Alienate actual people in your life in an attempt to impress ones you don’t know.
37. Lose weight because you forget to eat.
38. Place phone by bed so you can check first thing in the morning.
39. Defend Twitter to the death from detractors.
40. Hear self, and vaguely recognize that you have become “That Guy.”
41. Feel like, and start to behave like River Tam.
42. Vow to quit Twitter to preserve sanity.
43. Read this and change mind.
44. Think to self, “I should twitter that.”
45. Recognize irony.
46. Twitter it.

What it means to be a tennis fan. Part 1

So following on from the previous blog relating to nursing, I also want to mention a couple of thoughts about what it means to be a tennis fan. To be honest this isn’t something I thought I’d ever write about but I read a comment in an article in the Evening Standard last Friday which made me a little cross to say the least. It was about the win Andy Murray had in his second round match with Radek Stepanek in the Monte Carlo Masters and the credit Andy gave to the boxer David Haye for helping him with his “self belief and aggressive winning mentality”. Fair enough, nothing wrong with that and a credit to them both. There’s nothing worse or more likely to make you feel uncomfortable as a tennis fan than watching a player struggle with a defeatist mental attitude.
The aspect of the article that really pissed me off and which tennis fans the world over will empathise with was the introductory comment made by the journalist; “The genteel strawberries and cream world of tennis may appear to have little in common with the blood and guts of boxing”.
I actually need to take a minute before I go on as this has incensed me so much. It really gets my goat that tennis is referred to in such a way; another particular favourite is that it’s an ‘old man’s game’. Yeah right, only you don’t see any old men playing competitive tennis though do you? They wouldn’t even be able to beat the women if they were. I admit to deliberately missing the point there but in my experience the majority of spectators don’t fall into the ‘old men’ category either.
Ok back to the comment in the article. One of the first things I ever learned about tennis is that it’s a mental game, and I don’t mean mental as in mad, although that could be argued, just not now; but that it’s down to your mental determination and self belief. I’ve been watching tennis since I was 11 and the first player I totally fell in love with was Bjorn Borg when he won the Wimbledon final in 1980. Borg was my first crush I think and I read articles and devoured books about him, his game and what made him great. Actually one of the best insights was in John McEnroe’s autobiography when he not only discussed their professional rivalry but also their friendship and how much he missed Borg from the tour when he retired.
The element of Borg’s game which received the most commentary and which stayed with me, apart from his physical physique, was his mental toughness, his cool. The 4th set tie break in the 1980 final is legendary; let’s face it whenever there’s rain during the Wimbledon fortnight you can guarantee the BBC will dust it off and run it. It’s not a problem, it’s a good match and appeals to all fans, but what’s clear about that match and all good matches is the way the big points are played, that’s where the psychological tests are. Not only the 4th set tie breaks but for example, a score of 15:40 in the 7th game of a set is gonna test your mental toughness. Tennis matches are lost and won on a handful of key points and that’s what makes it so compelling. Well that and the skill of a well executed and well placed volley or lob, positioning in defence or a sweet backhand down the line, to name but a few.
So it’s understandable that Murray would be likely to benefit from Hayes in the way the article describes and in the match against Stepanek you could see it starting to pay off. But to say that tennis is so far removed from boxing is ludicrous. In addition to the mental ability, players need be extremely physically fit, light on their feet, have stamina and endurance, be agile, able to change direction and react quickly, able to outthink their opponent, have excellent defence.....sounds like boxing to me.