blipvert

So TechCrunch, normally the font of all human wisdom and understanding, gives us this:

But the power of Twitter is more about how many people are following you than how many you are following. It is about pulling together an audience and talking to them directly, and letting them reply directly in a way that seems intimate but is still quasi-public.

How can I say this…? Um, NO! !FAIL! BZZZT! TRY AGAIN! YOU SIR, HAVE MISSED THE POINT!

Am I making myself clear?

Sigh.

I am followed by ~1500 people. I follow ~1000 people. Preferentially Australians, but if you’re interesting enough — even as a North American — I’ll follow you.

Why? Because what you have to share with me is of far more value to me than anything I might share with you. I thrive on the input of a thousand other people. Your insights and observations have immense value. And yes, it takes time and effort and winnow out the wheat from the chaff, but it’s not impossible.

It seems to me that in the hyperconnected era, that’s a very important skill to possess.

So no, TechCrunch, Twitter is not a popularity contest. It is not a way to get teh “Thoughts of Chairman Mark” out to a vast and unknowable audience. It is, instead, a way for me to experience the best and highest thoughts of a multitude of others. Something that was never possible before this point in time.

Which may be why TechCrunch failed to recognize it.