danbruno.net

Twitter makes me slightly uncomfortable.

It’s not the concept that creeps me out. I can see the utility in a service that gives you real-time updates on what all of your friends are doing. It’s like an away message for real life, delivered to your cell phone or IM. It’s a fun idea that has the addictiveness of a full-fledged social network like Facebook.

The part that creeps me out is that I feel its pull without actually knowing people that use it. (Okay, to be fair, I know two — hi guys — but the bulk of my Twitter feed consists of updates from people I’ve never met.)

I’m interested in Macs, for example, so I read Cabel Sasser’s blog, Steven Frank’s blog, Mike Lee’s blog and Wil Shipley’s blog. I read John Gruber’s blog and listen to his podcast (three-month update: still funny). That’s normal enough, because all of those are written for a general audience.

The thing is, I follow most of those people on Twitter, where they talk about when they’re going to dinner or watching the game or going to the store. After a recent Daring Fireball post I even follow Gruber’s wife on Twitter. I get stories about their kid in my RSS reader. (And it’s not just me; there are hundreds of people following Cabel, and thousands following Gruber.)

Living vicariously through the minutiae of strangers’ daily lives: fun, but maybe a little squicky.