Comments on: Why I won’t make a Twitter List for Tuttlers

By: tashaharrison

tashaharrison — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:48:23 +0000

It’s easy to get a bit wrapped up in popularity, when actually you can get an awful lot out of Twitter, in terms of both marketing and social interaction, from only a few followers.

I can’t really see lists being one of Twitter’s greatest innovations.

By: Taylor Davidson

Taylor Davidson — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:53:05 +0000

Complete support and agreement. All my ideas for twitter lists are based on mocking the idea of lists.

(speaking of which, you might like this one: http://twitter.com/Andrew303/socialmediadouchebags )

My hope is that the “popularity”-based lists will evolve away once people discover the utility of lists.

By: Lloyd Davis

Lloyd Davis — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 11:29:33 +0000

yeah, I was just diving in myself and late at night which is why this post isn’t as detailed as I’d have liked – fortunately Rupert has filled in some of the blanks below

By: Lloyd Davis

Lloyd Davis — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 11:28:13 +0000

Thanks Rupert, yes that’s what I’d have said if I’d started writing at 10pm instead of 11pm

By: Rupert

Rupert — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 11:18:30 +0000

The risk of offence/exclusivity outweighs the usefulness, for sure. People’s radars are always up for the creation of cliques or A Lists. Even though most lists come about from a wish to provide a useful resource. And even though most people in a social media club list wouldn’t want to be seen as exclusive.

The problem is, the perception of an A List arises even when it’s not really there. Forgetting celebrities for a moment, the people who are particularly active in a community or regularly produce something of great quality, will tend to be linked to or talked about more than other people.

I think consumers generally like lists because they help choose what to read/watch/listen to amid the noise. But producers often hate them because they add an extra tier of hierarchy – if you’re not included, it’s because the list compiler hasn’t deemed you worthy, and you’re then at a disadvantage in terms of connecting with new consumers.

Even blogrolls can be pretty obnoxious, I think. I have a list of Videoblogs I Watch on my site, which I created as a useful resource, trying to make it as encyclopaedic as possible, but some people have taken offence that they’re not on there, even though I clearly say “If you’re not listed here, I’m sorry – email me and I’ll add you”

It’s the fact that I missed them off in the first place that hurts them.

I think the best solution it is to have a community Wiki. Put *all* the responsibility on people to add themselves and their URLs to a list.

If you want to draw attention to something cool that somebody’s doing, isn’t that what blog posts and tweets are for? Not adding them to static individually authored blogrolls and lists.

By: charlesfrith

charlesfrith — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 10:57:57 +0000

It’s fascinating all this emerging etiquette. I must admit I’d probably have dived straight in without thinking about it but I’m reflecting now.

By: Lloyd Davis

Lloyd Davis — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 10:13:09 +0000

I can see the point for a list with some clear and objective boundary – I’m happy to be on the LeWeb official bloggers list or the #media140 speakers list for example.

It’s where it slips into categorising people that I feel uneasy and it feels like “These are the cool kids” or “These are the popular people” or “These are the scumbags”

Also the whole attitude to lists and the SUL is a big area that I clearly need to write about a bit more to understand what I think…

By: Euan Semple

Euan Semple — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 06:32:05 +0000

I too have felt uneasy about Twitter lists. I have had them for a while but haven’t yet made a public list. I guess it is because they feel like a public statement of something that should be stated in public.