People have really gotten comfortable not only sharing more information and different kinds, but more openly and with more people. That social norm is just something that has evolved over time.
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg • On why his site is slowly becoming less private and more open. As Twitter has created an environment best for open discussion, Facebook – a traditionally private, walled-garden site – has tried to react by stretching their privacy settings in a way that makes it easier to share information. We kinda disagree with Zuckerberg here – Facebook works best private, while Twitter works best public. They’re two different things. They work two different ways. source
The history of the Internet suggests that there have been cool Web sites that go in and out of fashion and then there have been open standards that become plumbing. Twitter is looking more and more like plumbing, and plumbing is eternal.
Technology observer Steven Johnson • On Twitter’s long-term prospects as a communication mechanism. Johnson’s comments are the centerpiece of an article by New York Times media columnist David Carr, who makes the argument that Twitter may just stick around as a long-term mechanism rather than a trend like MySpace or Friendster. Carr still sounds a little cynical of the idea, but even so, makes a killer point: “Professional acquaintances whom I find insufferable on every other platform suddenly become interesting within the confines of Twitter.” Twitter win. source
It wouldn’t make you smarter, happier, worth more, have more friends, get laid more often, go to heaven or become a saint. Reading every story is a meaningless concept.
RSS co-inventor Dave Winer • Discussing how the syndication technology has been interpreted all wrong by feed readers, specifically Google Reader. The programs are designed like e-mail programs, which has had the end effect of making it so you’re encouraged to read everything, like e-mail. Winer continues, saying that Twitter has essentially nailed down the news-reading model RSS was trying for. “Twitter found a way to put both the authoring tool and the reading tool on the home page. Had I cracked that nut in 2002,” he says, “Twitter might have happened a few years earlier.” source