what I think about Twitter

Was picking the strawberries tonight and got to thinking about twitter. Decided to write it down. Decided to write it here because it is all about digital engagement.

In the old days as children we used to hide behind the shed on a Monday (washing day) because that was when all the gossip was exchanged over the garden fences. The mums would come to peg the washing out and talk to their neighbours. We found out who had run off with whom, whose kids had been caught in mischief and what punishment they received, who had passed exams, who had fallen out with who, etc etc and always something going on. 'Little pigs have big ears' my mum used to say, and they always talked quietly if they saw us about. Scandals could pass down the row faster than greased lightening.
The garden fence (for mums) and the potting shed or pub (for dads) and the street corner (for kids) were the places people shared their stories. If you had a problem you took it to your peer group or family members (everyone lived close by in those days, pre university and all jobs were local). Someone was always available to listen and give advice. Just by talking about it one came to realise a} a solution, b} someone else was much worse off than you or c} how to cope.
There was no therapy needed from shrinks or quacks. The community looked after its own. Stress was not a word I ever heard. We had engagement with everyone, there were not many secrets.

Then cars/travel became affordable and industry was thriving, health was improving and life expectancy meant more people worked for longer and became richer. Children didn't have to leave school at 12 and go down the pit to support the family. Education enabled poor children to go to university. Youngsters got good jobs and moved away. Families started to split up and the social network changed.
For years we were told that women had to go to work to be fulfilled, and creches sprang up because the young parents had no family support around them to mind the children. Pressure was on young mothers, and they had no garden fence to lean over to talk to someone. They had tumble driers but no granny up the road, no sister round the corner.
Young fathers didn't have the time to talk to the others in the pub, as when they got home they were expected to have 'quality time' with their children and help with housework. Pressure at work to keep the job and get promotion meant many men have to mask their emotions in the workplace, or lose the position they have worked for. In the old industrial days all most men needed was strength and brains. Now they need wit, brains, constant vigilance and education to survive in the service sector, which is where most of them work, not much industry left really...

..times sure have changed. These days we have digital engagement, and anyone of any age can join in. People can pour their hearts out on blogs, (bit like this) or the multitude of social networking sites that are about. It often doesn't matter if anyone reads them or not, simply writing it is sometimes all that matters. Support sites for addictions, healthcare, hobbies - the internet abounds with them.

The reason I got started on this ramble is just to say that I am comparing twitter with the garden wall/potting shed/pub of my youth.
Just seeing how fast the news of Michael Jackson spread round the twitterverse last night to me is a direct comparison to when Molly at number 47 ran off with the chap from 24.
Or when Peggy's dog got run over. Or when John got through to the grammar school. Or the old lady at 21 fell down the steps, or when Mrs Barnes had triplets...
...whenever this news shot down the street it had a response, someone took some food round to the old lady, people washed nappies for the triplets mom, someone found a puppy for peggy, the gossip always had a positive outcome.
How many people do you know in your street, and how many do you know virtually?
One other thing, it is amazing to see people tweeting for months, and then actually meeting them and tweeting about it. Twitter is a tool for good IMHO, back to the old fashioned 'gossip' which did so much good.
Dunno why I wrote all this but will post it anyway. Might just be an empty room LOL.

Best wash the strawberries now, jam making in morning...

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Comment by clarewhite on July 31, 2009 at 10:20am: Late to this one, but another great post Chris, thanks.
Sums up why I like living in Burslem, where you can sometimes still fail to get from one end of a street to the other without talking for *hours* with friends you bump into, why I don't like people making sweeping assertions about lack of aspiration on people they don't know who work very hard like we should all be moving with the times, and why I really value the chance to connect with people locally and further afield online.

Comment by Howard J Moorey on July 31, 2009 at 7:03am: Thanks Chris - this post, and the subsequent comments, summed up exactly what Digital Britain should have been all about! Totally agree with Jo Bill & Paul. It's good to meet them here, and you of course as @cyberdoyle.
When you take it offline, take it down the pub! They need help, and they should still be at the heart of the community - a connected community (and they should all be on Twitter & Digital Engagement!!)
When you take it on the road, especially if you are holidaying in the UK, stay on a farm! They are so much more relaxing and you can surround yourself with all that nature has to offer AND meet some lovely people in the process.
Enough messages. Thank you so much again for the post, and the thoughts it provoked. More please!
Howard

Comment by chris on June 28, 2009 at 9:28pm: Been thinking about what you said Paul. I think the best thing that could happen is if one of the soaps picked it up and ran with it. Do we know anyone who writes this stuff? That is one of the ways to pick up the digitally disengaged. Those already au fait with the technology are already doing all the same stuff as we are... blogging, tweeting, shopping...
chris

Comment by chris on June 28, 2009 at 10:07am: Yes Paul, that is just what we do here. We do it as volunteers, we help the rich and the poor, the clever and the stupid. We just do it. We don't have support, funding or anything. We have tried to get courses but we are too rural for anyone to want to help us. So instead of jumping through the funding loops and arguing the toss with suits we spend our spare time being productive, proactive and engaging our community, actually and virtually. LOL. power to the people.

Comment by Paul Webster on June 28, 2009 at 12:28am: Chris - as usual a quality post that took me back in time as well to when my mother did the same.
What we need to really do is harness the power of the social web and sites like Ning and Twitter to bring together communities. This must be both on-line where we can share our concerns and pour out our hearts like this, but also where this can be coupled with taking them off-line to visit the physically isolated who may be able to tweet but who need to see another human once in a while or the older person who a group in a local community have tweeted about but who needs a visit.
Paul

Comment by chris on June 27, 2009 at 12:18pm: a louder voice is loaded. we will load ours up with others somehow. keep tweeting babes. must go pick the strawberries, been parping about most of the morning with phone calls and visitors and kids and oily men wanting brews... nearly lunch time now, but big pan of soup on stove will shut them all up. If we could just get our voice loud enough for people to realise we have a valid point, it is such hard work when connectivity is so bad, we need access to the fat pipes. It's like having a motorway run through your fields with no junctions to get on to it. We have fibre nearby, and have ftth ready to join it, but BT don't like sharing their toys. flippin eck, off on another rant. soz. >gone.
chris

Comment by Jo Crumplin on June 27, 2009 at 12:06pm: That'll teach me to check spelling - that last line should read "LOUDER" voice.

Comment by Jo Crumplin on June 27, 2009 at 12:05pm: We certainly are Chris, and at this point I have to say thanks to Tracy Richardson who kept nagging me to get active on Twitter (had been registered since Dec 08). Remember that Unison advert a few years ago that showed one person trying to speak to her boss and not being heard, then with a body of members behind her the voice was loader.
Alone we can shout and stamp our feet and get frustrated, collaboration with like minded others, gives us support, and a loader voice that cannot be ignored.

Comment by chris on June 27, 2009 at 11:41am: Hi Jo and Bill
you are perfick examples of what I meant when I wrote this post! thanks for your comments. I met you on twitter and we are now building a global community aren't we?

Comment by Jo Crumplin on June 27, 2009 at 11:23am: Hi Chris, just reading the blog made my eyes well. As you say, so much has changed in our lives and to me the greatest loss has been communities. Through changes in the way people live and work and live, a lot of community spirit has gone. But that's not to say it can't come back. As well as Twitter, we have found Ning a fantastic easily accessable tool for bringing communities back together. Am a blog virgin, so bear with me while I put this across.