I was approached by someone in the office today who thought I’d be on cloud nine - Ashton Kutcher has defied CNN to a Twitter duel…my long time media hero Larry King is relunctantly jumping in….Oprah wants on Twitter…everyone is talking about it, I’ve been trying to help folks “understand Twitter”, so this was my vindication! Oprah say’s it’s great so therefore it must be great! The reality is, this is a disaster of epic proportions. No offense Larry, I still think you’re awesome…but this is so “not cool”….
Why I Want Oprah To Take The Blue Pill NOW!
Yes, here goes Cardoso again on another rant,except this time it’s something that he’s not happy about. Well,that’s why I have a blog and you can listen to me, or not – that choiceis yours – don’t like it? Get your own blog. In the meantime, I’ll continue…
Twitter is all about power to the people – it’s about empowermentand creating an even playing field. Just like blogging was (and stillis) so distruptive to the newpaper and news media industry, so istwitter in breaking down those “walls” of a class-based society and nowfrom a networking perspective, giving me, Pedro Cardoso, ”equalaccess” to everyone from Robert Scobleto Lance Armstrong. If you can contribute to the “collective borg-likeconsciousnes” of the world in a positive meaningful way, you will getnoticed, you will get followed, and who knows, you might be able to reap the rewards of being a “recognized center of excellence” in your own small way. This is Twitter. This is Good.
The “Mega” Stars are ruining Twitter. Most of them aren’t even theones doing the Twittering – they have legions of admins, pr experts -even as a type, in front of white boards somewhere, amidst the aroma ofstale coffee, sit publicists with stars on teleconference, plotting andplanning the next 7 days worth of “tweets” – adding this to theiralready stacked arsenal of tools and resources for self-promotion. They will “show the people” how it’s done. Look at me! I can get35,000 followers in 2 hours – or get to a million in no time! Now, atleast Kutcher is a “techie lover” – but Demi Moore – and nowshe saved someone from suicide on Twitter? Puhlease!
The purity of Twitter will suffer– and is suffering. Like a fast spreading Virus, with legions of twitsgetting on twitter, “just because” everyone else is doing it — notreally concerned with adding value to “the stream” but concerned moreabout not being left behind and in doing so, decrease the signal tonoise ratio on Twitter, possibly compromising the stability of theplatform and disrupting things for the rest of us.
Here is where I am “really hoping” all these ‘mega stars’ just take the blue pill– go back to the Wonderland you already have. Leave thsoe red pillsfor the rest of us – who are trying to make Twitter our new Wonderland. Twitter belongs to the people. The giants can go elsewhere.
{Cardoso waves his hands} …and says “Now, Discuss”. Looking for the comments, feedback, tweets!
Talk to me here, talk to me on Twitter, on Linked In..just Talk To Me. Stop Listenting To The Giants, though their “roar” is almost deafening in Twitterdom.
