by Buk, Esq.

Total Reading Time: 7 minutes

Recently I sat down for a conversation with A & B, who have diametrically opposing views on the utility of Twitter, to get their thoughts on the microblogging platform that's taking the world by storm (except for when it's down because of hackers who have beef with one bloggers' opinion on the conflict between Georgia and Russia). C your way out of it.

Buk, Esq.: Have y'all looked up the definition of the word "twit"?

                   twit |twit| noun.
                        a silly or foolish person.

                   twit |twɪt| verb.
                        tease or taunt (someone), esp. in a good-humored way.

Buk, Esq.: Crazy, huh?

A: I still don't understand this whole Twitter thing.
B: Honestly, doesn't it just connect you to everybody? That's all it is.
A: Why do you want to be connected to everybody?
B: Because we live on Earth and that's what we do.  We connect with people and we live life.
A: Can't we live our lives without connecting with people?
B: We can but unless you want to live a hermit lifestyle I wouldn't advise it.
A: Well I read Henry David Thoreau's Civil Disobedience and I'm all for it.
B: What does Thoreau say?
A: "I'm gonna go find this island and live without people...without connecting with people."
B: How does that help you?
A: I don't like people. I don't trust people. People have ulterior motives. People are selfish.
B: But you still have to deal with people, you live with people and everything is about people.

Buk, Esq.: People are twits.

A: People are twits.
B: So people are foolish.
A: Yes.
B: But you're not an exception to that rule.
A: But I don't leave it for the public to decide and determine.
B: Who cares what people think.
A: I don't want people to know.
B: So...you have something to hide?
A: No. But it's none of anybody's business.
B: Well some people feel that way. Some people...
A: Like really...when you get on Twitter you're just looking to know what other people are doing or what they're reading or what they're interested in?
B: No. Not necessarily, but yes. What you're doing is...
A: No. Not necessarily, but yes?
B: I mean you can do that. You can look in to see what people are doing. You can look into what people are interested in or you can connect with people on a business level, you can meet people that can help you out or market your business.  You can find out what's going on locally, nationally and internationally.  I follow people from all over the world and different people from all over the world follow me.
A: I wonder who I would be interested in following...
B: Name a show that you watch.
A: Weeds.
B: Alright you watch Weeds. So from watching that show you want to know...
A: Hell yeah, what's going on with Nancy Baldwin and her decision to sell weed in her suburban lifestyle.
B: So you find it entertaining and informative.
A: Yes.
B: And that's how I find Twitter.  I find it informative.  It keeps me in the know about music, art, culture and news in general. And at the same time I find it entertaining. Sometimes people do make a fool of themselves.
A: Do you think that it consumes a lot of your time and a lot of your day?
B: Yes. Most definitely. And that's the downside of it. Its got its negatives and its positives.
A: Like every time you get this 404 text message, do you know who it is?
B: No.
A: Muthafuckin' Solomon Sbenaty. Does he tweet every chance he gets? Like, oh my God, dude do you not have anything else to do?
B: He is doing...and he's reporting.
A: Like he is a professional tweeter!
B: Yes he is.
A: Tweet-tweet-tweet-tweet (laughs). Talking about he's going to meet this person and eating this food. Nobody gives a flying fuck!
B: Well. I'll tell you how many people do...around 1800 people.
A: He has 1800 followers?!?!?
B: 1800 people give a fuck what he does.
A: Well they're just as retarded as he is.
B: Well its the culture.
A: So what's wrong with me?
B: Nothing. You just choose not to partake.
A: In culture?
B: In this culture. Different people use it for different things.
A: I'm not opposed to any of it, God knows I'm not. Like even Facebook is alright because I don't want to pay every time I want to call someone overseas to see how they're doing.
B: Or sometimes for the lazy person that wants to keep in touch w/ their friends, they don't have to pick up the phone and make a call they can...
A: That would be perfect for me b/c I don't know how to keep in touch.
B: Well there you go.
A: Maybe I just don't have an interesting enough life to tweet about.
B: But its not about your life. That's what you're wrong about. It's not about what you're doing in your life and where you're going.
A: About what I'm interested in?
B: What you're interested in.
A: But I can't let people know that.
B: Well you're interested in human rights. You can enlighten people and open their eyes to something that they may not know about and then they read it on Twitter, something you tweeted, and then you change their world. They're like, "Oh did you know..."
A: Like when I was passing out the pamphlets...
B: Right.
A: And if I had twitted that shit I wouldn't have gotten arrested.
B: If you would have tweeted it...
A: Tweeted it.
B: If you would have tweeted it then you could have reached all kinds of people and they would have read it...
A: Instead of just the funky old white people at the mall...that called the cops.
B: Exactly.
A: Fucking twits!
B: It's not about, "I'm at work now..." or "I'm about to drink a glass of orange juice..." That's boring, nobody does that.
A: But people do do that.
B: They do. But you know what, it makes people more real sometimes. If you mix it up a little bit.  Put a little bit about you and a little about what you want to put out there.
A: I just think it's this cool club popularity contest.
B: It's that too. It's all of that combined in one. Everything. So you can just look at the negative or you can take it for what it is in its entirety and get out of it what you want and not participate in the part that you disagree with.
A: So do you think I should join Twitter?
B: I definitely think you should.
A: (laughs) I wouldn't have the slightest idea...
B: Yes you would. You've been hanging around a lot of tweeters...
A: And it's making me twitsick...
B: Well, you could tweet that..."I'm twitsick."

Buk, Esq.: Its a neologism. You just created a new word.

B: You can connect with people that have your same interests.
A: And then what would I do with that? We could become like...buddies on Twitter?
B: Well you're into music right?
A: I am into music.
B: And you go to allhiphop.com?
A: I do do that.
B: And what do you do there? Connect w/ people that have your same interests, read entertaining and informative articles, etc.
A: Get the latest music, mix tapes...
B: Right. Same thing.
A: On Twitter?
B: Yes.
A: But then people know me. Who I am. I don't like that. I would have to do it under an alias. I thought about opening a Facebook account under an alias, but...I feel like its just too much work. I would have like 3 followers, my sister, and her friends.
B: They would only know what you tweet. They wouldn't know you, but what you put out there. So you could be...
A: I don't like for people to know my thoughts.
B: Ok, so you don't want people to know you thoughts so don't share your thoughts. But how about sharing information that you think people should know?
A: Ok, but...will that get me followers?
B: Yes. Because people...
A: Is that the goal of Twitter...to have the most followers?
B: No. It is the goal for some people. But the more followers you have the more influence you have and a lot of people like to be influential. But, some people don't care and they just want to do what they want to do. You use it for what you want. You can't put it all under one category and say the goal is to have the most followers. It depends on what you're doing.
A: But the goal is just to...
B: To get out of it what you want out of it because it's a tool that's available and you can use it for whatever you want.
A: I'm not the one. I am not the twit.
____________________




Bukhari R. Nuriddin, Esq.


When not hard at work as owner of The Law Office of Bukhari Nuriddin, Buk, Esq. is an avid blogger, enjoys laughing at the absurdity of middle names like Jenae, and can make a 250 lb. man collapse by striking pericardium 17 with his phoenix eye fist.