I have no problem with what Twitter is now and I will continue to use it in the exact same way, I just wanted to address my, well, sorrows for an experience that was unlike anything possible before and is now fading into the background.

I see networks such as these as a refuge from the canned conversations and persuasive visuals that too often permeate our lives. It was a bit naive and a bit short-sighted, but it was an honest attempt at saying goodbye to an experience that will never be replicated.

I don't fault the mainstream for getting on board, it was me who invited them. What came off as complaining was simply sorrow.

You are definitely the early adopter type. It's not a bad thing but, you have to realize it to either, A, understand your place in product life cycle or B, be someone who can transition from early adopter to long-term user without the drama and pains.

Early adopters are both the key to early success and a hindrance to long term growth. They jump on something fast, many times to be first and define what “it” is, then complain and bail when it grows out of what they defined “it” as. If a company ignores the large emerging market needs in order to placate the early adopters it is bound to fail. This is true with companies, products, social organizations, churches… everything. The people who jump in first are usually the most put off by the real growth that is necessary to sustain.

What's your insistence on busting my balls on this?

Perhaps Twitter is just a highly accurate depiction of a society
that's more interested in reality shows and pre-packaged lives than
new experiences that might not be 100% safe or PC.

This is very apparent when you see scratching-the-surface events like
ignite or any of the *FNs regularly attended, but events like PodCamp
or even Gangplank happenings shunned by the non-geek crowd. People are
scared to change and you can't teach or include them if they're not
willing to step on the field.

Too many still view the Internet as separated from real life when it's
really a simple extension of it. This attitude is nearly impossible to
change without explaining the concept repeatedly, individually, which
takes its toll.

I think it still has a community feeling to it. The looks I get when I tell people that I'm on twitter, and that I use it all the time are varied. Most of the looks are dismissive. A lot of them are people looking at me and saying, “I don't twitter. People don't need to know that I'm eating ice cream”. I am constantly in an environment where twitter is just something on the internet. But to me, it's a whole new community. Tons of people I would have never met, I've met from twitter. I learn from them everyday. I learn from you all the time, and I've only talked to you for a total of about 20 seconds. Have you turned a blind eye to all of the newer users in your own community that you're trying to make better? Broadcasting to one person, is another person's way of finding they're niche followers. Maybe, now that twitter is getting bigger, niches are becoming harder and harder to find. If that's true, maybe twitter is just going through a growing pain.

This isn't the fault of any specific person or event, and more of a reflection on the people itself. When I first started and up until, oh, late last year, Twitter was a community, not simply a communication tool. As it's become ubiquitous, and as rammed home with the launch of @anywhere today, the community has become fragmented, rather than niche focused.

This post is really me thinking out loud as I adjust my expectations regarding what I expect from others and what I expect from myself.