Twitter rant number 1: shouldn’t you be paying attention?
Friday, March 6, 2009 at 2:19 pm UTC by David Crotty permalink
Are there times when science shouldn’t be a conversation? When sitting quietly and listening is more important than joining in discussion?
As a self-confessed grumpy old man who is still eluded by the allure of Twitter, I was thrilled to recently see that I’m not alone, and patron saint Jon Stewart is thinking along the same lines. After the recent O’Reilly TOC conference, there were scores of articles talking about twittering during presentations, Joe Wikert for one noting, “I found myself listening to a speaker in one session while also reading the tweets from the others running simultaneously.” Which brings up the obvious question Stewart asks:
“Why aren’t you paying attention? There’s a reason they don’t allow cel phones in seventh grade classrooms.”
Is it really possible to pay detailed attention to a speaker while you’re simultaneously typing and reading and having a conversation with others? I find it incredibly annoying when sitting in a seminar with a colleague who won’t stop commenting or talking long enough for me to take in what the speaker is saying. There’s usually a reason why a particular person is asked to speak on a particular subject. Do we owe them the courtesy of listening to what they have to say, or are we evolving into such an ego-centric society that we must constantly force ourselves into the spotlight? Must everything be a conversation where every voice is heard, or are there some situations where it’s okay to let one person have the floor? Colin Robinson notes:
In an increasingly self-centered society a premium is placed on being heard rather than listening, being seen rather than watching, and on being read rather than reading.
I’m all for asking questions and debating a speaker’s results, but can’t you wait until they’re actually presented before doing so? If you’re going to spend the talk having a conversation with friends and checking your e-mail why even attend at all? Here’s an interesting look at a criminal law class where the professor banned laptops from the classroom. 71% felt it improved their concentration in class, 52% said it made the time in class more interesting, and 54% felt it increased their overall enjoyment of the class. Perhaps there’s merit in focus and attention after all.
Is what you have to say really so important that I can’t wait until the talk is over to hear it? Are your pithy thoughts more important than the speaker’s? Are your comments even relevant if you’re not listening to what’s being said? If we’re having a conversation instead of listening, why are we even here, shouldn’t we be in the bar doing this?
Are tools like Twitter really an improvement, or do they just pander to our increasingly short attention spans, our laziness (more on this in my next rant) and our need to be the center of attention at all times?
Posted in General, Online Tools, Social Software, Web 2.0 | 6 Comments »
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Saturday, March 7, 2009 at 9:29 am UTC
Hi David, here’s some homework for you on the topic of attention
http://delicious.com/AJCann/attention
Have you seen Howard Rheingold’s work in this area?
Saturday, March 7, 2009 at 9:50 am UTC
Good point David. I do twitter and recently used it during a session as a mechanism to track the main points of the talk (no plug for a computer short on power and dead pen). Not sure I would repeat the experience as it was more distracting than simply taking notes on my computer. Twitter can be as useful as RSS, but I am particular about who I follow.
FYI – Bars and dinners are no longer twitter and IM free!! People use their devises to have sub-conversations (reminds me of clicks in junior high school when people would whisper to one another during larger conversations).
Friday, March 13, 2009 at 3:28 pm UTC
Great post. A lot of these hiccups will be worked out as we develop social conventions to deal with the new technologies. Figuring out what is rude and what is useful takes a little time.
Personally, I would have a real problem without a laptop to take notes. I’m on the board of a foundation and I post notes/attachments directly on our wiki during the meeting. Without a laptop and internet access, I would not be nearly as productive.
In fact, I am not sure I could even take notes longhand. At least not legible ones.
Of course, I am in my 50s and have spent a long time figuring out ways to take good notes. Students are not usually the best example. For them, I would suggest getting iTalk for their iPhones and simply recording the talk to listen to later.
An approach demonstrated in the movie Real Genius 24 (!) years ago.
Monday, March 23, 2009 at 10:06 pm UTC
[...] Twitter rant number 1: shouldn’t you be paying attention? | Bench MarksThere are times when science shouldn’t be a conversation. David Crotty rants about people Twittering when they should be listening. Tags: blog, blogging, conversation, FriendFeed, listening, references, research, science, Science Spotlight, social networking, structured-thinking, tagging, twitter, zotero Technorati Tags: blog, blogging, conversation, FriendFeed, listening, references, research, science, Science Spotlight, social networking, structured-thinking, tagging, twitter, zotero (No Ratings Yet) Loading … Print Post Like this article? Next Generation Science delivers weekly articles on emerging technologies and tomorrow’s science. Join the community by subscribing (more). [...]
Monday, April 6, 2009 at 6:59 am UTC
“Are tools like Twitter really an improvement, or do they just pander to our increasingly short attention spans, our laziness (more on this in my next rant) and our need to be the center of attention at all times?”
Who do you end with a question? Undecided? Didn’t sound that way to me.
Monday, April 6, 2009 at 7:25 am UTC
It ends as a question because I’m willing to be convinced otherwise. I’ve stated my general impression here, but I certainly could be wrong and am always open to learning something new.