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Twitter Not Rocket Science, but Still a Work in Progress

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the time-to-start-over-on-some-things dept.

While it may not be rocket science, the Twitter team has been making a concerted effort to effect better communication with their community at large. Recently they were set-upon by a barrage of technical and related questions and the resulting answers are actually somewhat interesting. "Before we share our answers, it's important to note one very big piece of information: We are currently taking a new approach to the way Twitter functions technically with the help of a recently enhanced staff of amazing systems engineers formerly of Google, IBM, and other high-profile technology companies added to our core team. Our answers below refer to how Twitter has worked historically--we know it is not correct and we're changing that."

12 of 111 comments (clear)

  1. twitter hate... by bsDaemon · · Score: 4, Funny

    Man, who *IS* this guy that his trolling has gotten its own front page article?

    1. Re:twitter hate... by nawcom · · Score: 1, Funny

      heh. as soon as i read the title I just had to see who got first post on it, and which insult they are going to use on twitter.

    2. Re:twitter hate... by bsDaemon · · Score: 2, Funny

      I was attempting to make a joke based on the fact that everyone seems to hate the user named "twitter" who allegedly has a vast army of fake accounts he uses to reply to himself and create little Socratic dialogs to solicit karma.

      of course, now its not funny anymore.

    3. Re:twitter hate... by rts008 · · Score: 3, Funny

      I have been confused about this also.
      I DO hang out at places other than /., but until all of the '/. twitter' troll posts, I had never even heard of the twitter weblog. I assumed they were connected somehow and totally dismissed the twitter weblog.

      Now that I have seen the twitter weblog, I'm still tempted mentally to associate the two, and want to spam it with goatse.cx links to somehow balance the shite. (just kidding-sort of)

      I could not get an answer from the twitter weblog about how many sock puppet accounts you could register though, so I guess I will pass on the whole thing, and attempt to just filter 'anything twitter' from my web experience, as any more in my mind twitter==mindless rant.

      And before some twitter (weblog) fanboy tries to bust my chops, yes I know I could be 'missing out on something' with that attitude, well that also goes for a million and one other websites that I currently don't know about. Save it!

      --
      Down With Slashdot BETA!!! I've been around the corner and seen the oliphant; you can only abuse me from your perspecti
    4. Re:twitter hate... by infonography · · Score: 3, Funny

      I thought that the Twitter product was a free roving troll for all weblogs and somebody had figured out a way to profit from it.

      So I went to the site and found I was correct. Its a AI-based troll that talks up products. Sadly there is a glitch where it also talks about toilet related obsessions.

      --
      Sorry about the writing. Robot fingers, you know? Cliff Steele in DOOM PATROL #23
  2. This is correct by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Making 10 slashdot accounts is not rocket science.

    1. Re:This is correct by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      ... says an AC.

  3. And the biggest irony is... by JamesP · · Score: 2, Funny

    ...twitter blog is hosted on blogger (Google), and this morning it was out of service.

    --
    how long until /. fixes commenting on Chrome?
  4. I find it odd that this article is tagged effect. by bistromath007 · · Score: 3, Funny

    It seems to be meant to suggest that the article's use of "affect" is incorrect. Surely this is mistaken. If suggesting that twitter has anything to do with better communication isn't an affectation, I don't know what is.

  5. Fixed it for you.... by adamofgreyskull · · Score: 1, Funny

    "No offence to the people at Twitter, and maybe not the people who recently migrated there. But am I alone in being hesitant to welcome people who formerly worked at IBM, et al, and even Google?

    Granted, they seem to be more directed at the physical performance of the system, but I see this as somewhat of an inroad to Twitter actually working, thereby requiring me to acknowledge its existence. And I would much rather have some no-name website, where people living in their mother's basements come to tell a world that would rather ignore them that they just had a shit, go under, than sap the life-blood of a decent technology company.

    I have no idea what Twitter could be useful for, but I just find having big boys come in and having control over something that's (potentially, and already has been) so useless, uh...kind of boring."

    Honestly though, what? They hired some people from real technology companies who might have the first clue of how to do what they should already have been doing. I have only the vaguest idea of what Twitter is, based on this and having checked it out, have had my suspicions confirmed. Call me a curmudgeon, but they just sound like they're trying desperately to survive in a marketplace already brimming with (better) competition by hiring experienced technologists. Seriously, how long before 'phones that can handle Facebook are the norm?

  6. Nice try... by wigginz · · Score: 3, Funny

    but who would quit Google to work for Twitter???

    --
    You may find my appearance and demeanor foolish, but it is you who plays the fool.
  7. Alright, poop-time by spun · · Score: 4, Funny

    I'm a twitter-shitter!

    --
    - None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton