Talk to me about Twitter

I get to see lots of articles that would pass me by and I enjoy seeing some of the images and photographs that other people tweet or retweet, some of Bags are very good.

I dont necessarily understand Twitter, but I enjoy the people I do follow.
I am easy to find if anyone wants to @glassortwo .

Hoping that GNHQ has no objections to us publishing our twitter names - I'm out there too if anybody wants to follw me @lefthanded99 (and I'm following @glassortwo)

I'm @Tina46fjh if anyone's desperate!

Sorry Janeainsworth! I think perhaps 'controlled' was not the right word. I meant 'succinct'. No offence to anyone intended.

We all get the odd nasty comments or get criticised for what we say that doesn't please others from time to time, but that is the penalty to be paid for going public on social networking sites, isn't it? Choose what you post and what you respond to carefully. Trolls or anyone you don't want following you can be blocked though. And there are privacy settings.

The more we post, the more we lay ourselves open to criticism. I have noticed it happens on the Gransnet forum too, doesn't it? To avoid, you can always just lurk and not post. Twitter can still be a great source of info or entertainment. Just choose who you follow, and allow to follow you, carefully.

Oh yes, and re: the addictive nature of Twitter .... it is! I try to keep to x2 a day!!

Sorry my misunderstanding Jud
I agree with you that if you can't take criticism, stay off social networking sites, though I don't think Mary Beard and the rest deserved all that abuse.
Anyway, you have made me determined to overcome my laziness and have another look at Twitter

Yes unlike FB Twitter does not have privacy settings although I think you can block and report individuals. I don't quite understand why I see tweets from people I don't follow - they are not all retweets are they?
I follow various people who are concerned about the future of the NHS and who are in favour of evidence-based medicines. Leads me to some interesting blogs sometimes. I use the bitly site to shorten links and also its a useful filing system for articles and blogs.
I also follow @everydaysexism and a few other feminist sites. plus GN and some people associated with it.
I tweet about science and medicine news and occasionally (because i can't resist - education policy). If I write a blog I can tweet the link to my followers which is much easier than getting people to follow a blog directly e.g. i wrote one about the duration of post menopause symptoms the other week. You can follow me on @jess_madge if you'd like.

Jess maybe the tweets from people you don't follow are (as on FB) linked to people you do follow. It happens on fb, they "suggest" pages.

Yes they are linked to follow-ees.
I fear that twitter is going to get overwhelmed with ads in the near future. FB is going that way, along with the sharing of various graphics - photos of assorted stuff.

JessM you can protect your tweets. Go to security and privacy settings and tick 'protect my tweets'.

How's it going Kittylester - have you got the hang of it yet?

I always think twitter has to be used on a mobile - I'm wrong, aren't I? Can it be accessed on iPads and laptops?

I've tried it mollie, I've really tried, but I think life is too short really!!

kitty You're not wrong!

You sound like me Kittylester but I'm dithering about giving it a go. Just had to do an exercise about power and influence based on the number of tweets and retweets between staff in an office. The rubbish that was tweeted and retweeted made my toes curl but the bean counters, er, sorry, network scientists, took no notice of the quality of the tweets when deciding who had power and influence, just the quantity. Apparently Katie Price has more followers than President Obama so on that basis should be considered more powerful???

HOWEVER, I'm sure there are some excellent uses for twitter (at least I hope so...) so before I condemn it for good perhaps I ought to give it a go?

Actually, I think it was Katie Perry ... where's my delete/edit button?????

As OH is an IT bod who likes to try new things out, I wondered if he has a twitter account and of course he has. He follows, never tweets but oddly has some followers. He thinks it's because his name is the same as a famous poker player (I didn't know that either!!) but he said the first follower latched onto him almost immediately was No. 10! Is everyone followed by the government? It's a bit weird really...

Mollie you can use an iPad for Twitter as well as an iPhone. I mostly use the iPad because it is easier to read. You can take and tweet photos from either.

www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/mar/06/celebrities-parody-camerons-on-the-phone-to-obama-selfie-tweet

Anyone still think it's okay for Cameron to be on twitter?

I have been on Twitter for a while but find it remarkably boring. The only person I enjoy following is Jeremy Clarkson. Rude but quite amusing!

I have been getting adverts for a stupid magnet that you put in your knickers - claims to be "an alternative to HRT". They sell the same worthless product for menstrual problems.
Am so annoyed by this nonsense that I have complained to the ASA - which is probably not the intended result of the twitter ads. But really. Quack cures are us.

Yes, I think it's OK. (answer to durhamjen's question). A bit of taking the piss about politicians parody is a good thing in a democracy.

Taking the piss about almost anything, actually.

I don't follow Cameron. Blergh. But i love the parody of the @QueenUK account. Chuckle.

PS Thank you, glass

I do not mind the parody. I object to the fact that Cameron thinks it's okay to discuss the start of the third world war on twitter.
Had hoped somebody else would as well.