Portland Mercury

This Week in the Mercury

Music

Archives

RSS Feed

Twitter

Blogtown Tip?

Blogtown, PDX

« MLS2PDX: this is it! | The Traveling TOMS Show »

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Tech Goodbye Twitter, Hello Blellow!

Posted by Kiala Kazebee on Thu, Mar 19, 2009 at 11:20 AM

Twitter has officially jumped the old people shark and I am in mourning.

I love my Twitter dearly. I joined during the second tier of invites when it was still in beta and no one knew what it was or what it was good for (talking about food! and booze!) and other social media sites (Pounce, virb, etc) sprung up around it like weeds or flowers or springy things and subsequently died around it like weeds or flowers or Natasha Richardson (TOO SOON KIALA) and Twitter became riddled with confused-not-sure-how-to-tweet- correctly celebrities (Seth Green, I'm looking at you) and social media gurus (ick). This makes me sad. And speaking of today, Twitter was the featured subject on the Today Show this morning. Lord. Hoda Kotbe tweets and I...I just...I can't deal with it anymore.

So, in lieu of the poopy economy and the impending freelancery of all journalists and web developers and the aforementioned "social media gurus" (I can't seem to get over that this is a real thing) might I suggest we all pack up our tweets and shuffle on over to Blellow?

Blellow is still in beta but is not invite only and while similar to Twitter in that you only get a certain number of characters to ask a question or talk about a project or whatever, you can specifically target the group of people you'd like to interact with at every, um, "Blellow" I guess. Or "Blell". Or "Blow". Hm.

Anyway, Blellow is targeted at freelancers and while it's not as cute as Twitter, it's much quieter over there and Kathie Lee isn't talking about Frank in less than 140 characters. So that's something.

What do you all think? Should we go?

11f7/1237486824-hodatwitter.jpg

#oldpeoplepleasestepawayfromthecomputer

Comments (22) RSS

Showing 1-22 of 22

Add a comment

Wait, so with this new webtron 0.2 platform of interlocuting with people... You blow strangers?

Posted by Graham on March 19, 2009 at 11:39 AM | Report this comment

Well, it does say something about "getting" "jobs".

Posted by kiala on March 19, 2009 at 11:47 AM | Report this comment

I've never had to blow anyone to get a job yet, but with this economy...

Posted by Matthew D on March 19, 2009 at 11:51 AM | Report this comment

I'm sorry, on a scale of 1 to 10, one being sarcastic and ten being serious, what is this post?

Posted by Rusty! on March 19, 2009 at 11:59 AM | Report this comment

Rusty, this post is an illuminating discourse on the inevitable tide of advancement.

Posted by Graham on March 19, 2009 at 12:10 PM | Report this comment

Complaining about twitter because I used it before it became cool has also jumped the shark

Posted by CH on March 19, 2009 at 12:14 PM | Report this comment

Fair enough. But at least I'm offering an alternative instead of just complaining about it.

Posted by kiala on March 19, 2009 at 12:19 PM | Report this comment

Fair enough.

Posted by CH on March 19, 2009 at 12:22 PM | Report this comment

But what happens when Blellow becomes to main stream, or jumps the shark? Did you create Blellow like service, and this is all just a conspiracy that in a year we use the service you created after Blellow blows up?
I'm onto you.

Posted by Rusty! on March 19, 2009 at 12:41 PM | Report this comment

It's not just that Twitter has become too mainstream. I guess I should clarify that it's become too saturated with celebrity publicist's trying to sell me something and what once was a neat way to get to know interesting people in an honest, fun manner has become kind of dirty and false.

Posted by kiala on March 19, 2009 at 12:46 PM | Report this comment

Whatever Kiala. You have haven't blellowed (blowed, ellowed, wtf?) in three days. You're not even using the product. But I agree with you on the publicists on twitter. Shit is 'tarded now. I'm not even a media-employee (yet), but they want to shill me anyways.

Posted by Graham on March 19, 2009 at 1:05 PM | Report this comment

Remember when I said this...an hour ago?

"What do you all think? Should we go?"

I am taking a CONSENSUS Graham-y.

Posted by kiala on March 19, 2009 at 1:18 PM | Report this comment

I don't think consensus can be reached till we nail down what the verb is for using the site. So far the only one that works is "blow".

As much as I like the innuendo of "blow", it kinda sucks.

Posted by Graham on March 19, 2009 at 1:22 PM | Report this comment

twitter = ychat on campus networks.

1994 folks. Sheesh.

Posted by ?pqM)mH{5i*7V7wVNiH?tcvUk'j>tH\VF5!V+00HY?jgK7@iA<_(B0Mii*:@e9Iq on March 19, 2009 at 1:25 PM | Report this comment

Well...not quite ychat. If used correctly, it can be an incredible professional and social tool.

Professional and social tool. Heh.

Posted by kiala on March 19, 2009 at 1:33 PM | Report this comment

What the fuck is "taking a consensus"?

Posted by meow\ on March 19, 2009 at 2:15 PM | Report this comment

When are Kiala and Graham gonna get it on already so I can stop reading their incessant bloggie foreplay?

Posted by Suz on March 19, 2009 at 2:25 PM | Report this comment

Dear I heart Boxxy, some of us can only get through the day based upon Grahm and Kaila's foreplay. If you take that away from me, I may just drivel up and die.

Posted by Rusty! on March 19, 2009 at 10:00 PM | Report this comment

I remember the ol' twitter beta phase. My friend was telling me how I should sign up so that we could tell each other what we're doing when we're doing things. And I was like, I see you five times a day, why would I need to get those updates on the phone (his pitch had a lot to do with getting the updates as text messages)? The end.

Posted by ROM on March 19, 2009 at 10:16 PM | Report this comment

what does that have to do with me, rusty?

Posted by meow\ on March 19, 2009 at 11:27 PM | Report this comment