I just wasted a couple minutes reading the ten commandments of twitter. I’m reluctant to even link to such twaddle, but go ahead, read it, it’ll give you some context.

I continue to be baffled by self-important self-proclaimed pundits who feel the need to tell me how I should use the Internet. Twitter is yet another online chat forum, and nothing more. To tell me that I need to define a goal for Twitter is somewhat like telling someone “you need to define a goal for conversation, and then every conversation you have needs to be working towards that goal.”

The goal of conversation varies from one conversation to another. Some are about relationships, some are about purchasing tuna fish, and some are about criticizing folks who feel the need to tell me that I need to pick an overarching goal for all of my conversations.

Another pet peeve of mine that shows up in this ludicrous post is the assertion that I must grow my followers. People who define their worth in terms of the number of twitter followers they have, or in terms of the traffic that their blog receives, or in terms of how many barflies gather around them to listen to their inane jokes, are missing the point of human relationship. And it’s just really sad.

Relationships are not a popularity contest. The person with the most followers doesn’t win. They merely have an enormous list of other popularity contest contestants gathering around them hoping that something will rub off.

Please don’t tell me how I should use my blog, or Twitter, or Facebook, or whatever else. If you view conversation as nothing more than a marketing opportunity, chances are your conversation is of the cold and sterile sort anyways, and I really won’t want to emulate that.