“Twitter Isn’t “Over”, I’m Over It.” - John Mayer’s Thoughts on Twitter
Last week in Los Angeles I participated in a live Q&A as part of an ASCAP expo on songwriting. When the topic of Twitter came up, I explained my waning interest in it being part of my daily life. By no means do I think it’s over as a medium altogether, but I do think that the days of “Twitter: The Breakthrough” have passed, as has been and will continue to be the case for every online social network. It’s reached it’s cruising altitude, so to speak. Patterns and templates are emerging. The Twitter-bred syntax isn’t really doing it for me anymore.
And call me crazy, but I don’t think it’s the healthiest thing in the world to read scads of mentions/@replies and effectively open the floodgate of other people’s approval/disapproval. Finding out in 140 characters what a stranger has to say about you is like a mathematical equation without an established value of ‘x’. Who are you, stranger? What do you stand for? What do you like, and if it’s not me, then what does move you? What DO you look up to? Once I find that out, I’ll know how disappointed I should be.
This is where Tumblr comes in. It’s the future of social networking if your image of the future features intelligent discourse. I love reading other Tumblr users replies, because they’re thoughtful by virtue of the fact that if they’re not, they’ll bring the intellectual property value of their own blog down, and that’s a commodity on Tumblr.
This post is an experiment in itself. If you want to communicate me, open a Tumblr account, follow me, repost my blog and then add to it. I’ll follow you back. Agree or disagree, lionize or demonize, but for God’s sake, be original. You’ll have all the room in the world to do it now.
JM
John Mayer’s thoughts on Twitter are like a breath of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Everyone is boxed into a 140 character tizzy and he flips the script and reverses his private school blazer.
Most Twitter users would give anything for John’s followers (over 3 million), not realizing the internet verbal abuse and social media stigma that would come with them. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t one of them. Which is why I appreciate John’s unnecessary insight.
We’ve been spoiled by Mr. Mayer’s (and many others) willingness to open up. Instead of being thankful, we take the glimpse of the good life for granted. So, with that being said, I’ll take this opportunity to thank John, not only for Tweets and his Tumblr but for his music.
JW
P.S. John - If your reading this, I just started a small media company with a friend, Conversated Media. We’d love to assist with jazzing up your Tumblr blog and creating a seamless integration with your Twitter profile (sending your Tumblr posts to Twitter, etc.). I know shameless plug, but I thought I’d reach out to you before Seacrest gives you a hard time.
You can reach me at: jeremywatt@conversated.com. Looking forward to future Tumblr posts.
