Not all of my readers follow me on Twitter. Either they don’t understand this whole Twitter thing or they don’t care about tweets and retweets and twittermania, or it’s just too much work to keep up with a blog and Twitter and Facebook and OMG my head is gonna’ explode! That’s cool. I get that. Millions of people were texting before I sent the first message on my cell phone, and I still don’t know what Google Wave is or what it does or why I should care.
However, I wanted to share my tweets with the segment of my blog readers who don’t subscribe to Twitter, but I also wanted to incorporate them in a more organic way than that widget in my sidebar allows. So I’ve updated the home page of my blog so my recent tweets appear in the stream. Both the blog posts and the tweets are sorted in descending chronological order in regards to when they were posted.
The tweets do not appear in my blog feed. I figure, if you want to subscribe to my Twitter posts, you’re already doing that. There’s no need to duplicate info you already have. I did this update for the people who read the blog by visiting the web site every day. The tweets only appear on the home page, not in my archives (though I might change that eventually, when my eyes aren’t burning from staring at my monitor). You can’t comment on the tweets like blog entries either, because that’s a bit more complicated and I don’t feel like figuring that out right now, because as I mentioned before, OMG my head is gonna’ explode!
Please let me know what you think of this new feature. Do you like it? Is it annoying? Do you not care one way or the other? Is it displaying funky on your computer? Thanks, and I hope you enjoy.
cindy says
November 29, 2009 at 4:58 pmHi PQ,
The Twitter thingys are interesting… like little bodyless, free-floating blurbs that sneak in to mess with the mind. I don’t do Twitter, obviously, so I don’t understand the concept completely. I also don’t do facebook or any of those sites. I draw the line at email and reading/responding on people’s blogs occasionally. That’s modern enough for me. But reading your tweets is cute. Leave them wherever you want, it makes no nevermind either way.
PastaQueen says
November 29, 2009 at 5:17 pm@cindy – It might look better when the tweets aren’t clumped together like they are today. We’ll see how they distribute them between blog posts in the future. I’m still undecided on it. I like them, but I can see how some readers might find them confusing since the topics are so random.
Carbzilla says
November 29, 2009 at 7:08 pmThank you for being such a considerate blogger!
I tweeted the other day while waiting for my yoga class to start. I didn’t really care that no one was going to read it because no one even knows I have it or follows it. I think I may be the worst Tweeter ever. But, again, I got other things to worry about.
girliefriend says
November 29, 2009 at 7:10 pmI can’t be bothered with tweets, facebook, myspace or the plethora of the other connections out there. I feel like I’m suffering technology overload or something. Besides, I don’t need to know the random minutiae of everyone’s lives. I keep up with my forum, and have a list of blogs and news sites I subscribe to. That’s more than plenty. I took a look at your home page. Thanks for not adding your tweets to your blog feed.
girliefriend says
November 29, 2009 at 7:10 pmI can’t be bothered with tweets, facebook, myspace or the plethora of the other connections out there. I feel like I’m suffering technology overload or something. Besides, I don’t need to know the random minutiae of everyone’s lives. I keep up with my forum, and have a list of blogs and news sites I subscribe to. That’s more than plenty. I took a look at your home page. Thanks for not adding your tweets to your blog feed.
Anna says
November 29, 2009 at 8:04 pmI like the tweets on your page, they add interest (and possibly context in some cases). I don’t really do the tweet thing so it’s the only way I’m going to see them.
Thanks also for saying what they were as I would have been scratching my head as to what these cute little birdie adorned random sentences were popping up!
Suzy Q says
November 29, 2009 at 8:07 pm@girliefriend – Uh, with a passive aggressive comment like that, I doubt PQ wants you following her tweets OR her blog.
I think they’re fine, PQ. Thanks for letting us know what’s going on.
barbara raab says
November 29, 2009 at 8:09 pmI’m dying to know how you so brilliantly got the twitter birdie icon to switch from side to side!
PastaQueen says
November 29, 2009 at 8:20 pm@barbara raab – A web developer never reveals her tricks if she wants to keep charging by the hour :)
Osa Morena says
November 29, 2009 at 9:53 pmI like having them on the main page. I was reading them in the sidebar anyway, and this is easier. I’m maxed out with e-mail, Facebook and blog surfing, so am not going to start with Twitter or anything else. And life is random, so that part is fine.
Debbi says
November 29, 2009 at 11:27 pmI like the tweets. I especially loved the one about the Hagen Daz coupon printing up. I am one of those who does not do Twitter nor understands it, at all. I wasn’t sure if it was just a conversation with many people or just the random thoughts. I like the random thought thing though. I’ll have to actually go to your homepage now rather than just reading your blog at night through my email.
girliefriend says
November 30, 2009 at 12:08 am@Suzy Q –
that was passive aggressive? Really? I kind of thought this comment by PQ actually asked for our thoughts.
“Please let me know what you think of this new feature. Do you like it? Is it annoying? Do you not care one way or the other? Is it displaying funky on your computer?”
Linda Sherwood says
November 30, 2009 at 8:20 amI like the Tweets mixed in with your blog, and I am one of your blog readers who does not follow you on Twitter.
I don’t like Twitter, and I don’t plan on twittering. (I once hated answering machines too, and I adapted eventually, so I reserve the right to change my mind sometime in the distant future.) The biggest thing I don’t like about Twitter are the twitter conversations that you have to go to multiple pages to understand. (And I’m sure the hashmark stuff addresses this, but still — too much clicking.)
In other words, I don’t like it when I go to someone’s Twitter page and have to search for the nuggets like those being posted on your blog and can only find the one-sided conversations that go @someone.
Linda Sherwood says
November 30, 2009 at 8:22 amEven better than the switching bird skills, I love the little head shot of you that appears on your comments. It shows your a web developer worth paying. :)
Katharine says
November 30, 2009 at 2:51 pmI’m a fan of Twitter and a user of it too, and I like that you’ve added your tweets to your blog. It’s a thoughtful gesture to those who don’t use Twitter or who do but don’t follow you there. And because tweets are very short, they’ll help break up the longer big blocks of text that blog posts create.
Shh says
November 30, 2009 at 5:14 pmI don’t tweet, so it matters not to me how you calibrate things. However, the good news is that this post actually had me LOOK at the side stuff for the first time since I started following you a year ago. LOL
Hope your head feels better soon. Stoopid headache.
Nathalie says
December 6, 2009 at 4:40 amHiya Pastaqueen,
I’m liking the tiny Twitter widget, although i already follow you on Twitter :)
A big hello from Luxembourg,
N.