Twitter is not a Fire hose! (It’s just a hose.)

Every now and then I hear something that just doesn’t make sense to me and I feel impelled to try to fix it.  I know I can’t, but perhaps if a few of my readers feel the same way, we can at least inform our friends.  We may not change the world, but perhaps we can try to clear up a misconception.

I heard two very informed individuals both say that “Twitter is a fire hose”.  There is so much information in there that you could never keep up with it.

From a purely technical standpoint, there is some truth to it.  But the comment paints a very scary picture that most normal people would avoid.

Let’s think about this for a minute.  How many television channels do you get?  How many websites are there?  How many radio stations are there?  How many phone numbers are there?  How many email addresses are there?

All of those are media.  Each one is a medium.  The definition of media?  Glad you asked…

In communication, media (singular medium) are the storage and transmission tools used to store and deliver information or data. It is often referred to as synonymous with mass media or news media, but may refer to a single medium used to communicate any data for any purpose.

If your television, radio, or telephone bothers you, shut it off.  If you don’t like something you see or hear on any of these, change the channel.  You can do these same things on Twitter.  Shut it off or un-follow.

Nothing scary there.

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