Opinion: Twitter’s great, but cut the drivel

Do you think we should have a Twitter account? I was asked this by a friend recently. He has a large business and is struggling to see what merit, if any, social media would offer his company.
In his opinion, Twitter could be yet another distraction for his staff. I tried to explain Twitter and shared my early reservations. In 2007 my wife and I were out to dinner with friends. Halfway through the meal, the husband took out his iPhone and tweeted about the meal and venue.
‘Twitter will changed social media forever,’ he said. Who was I to question him? He was the head of new media for one of the largest media companies on the planet, and I was a small-time farmer from the outskirts of Luton. I didn’t get it at all. Who on earth would be interested in other people’s eating habits? I couldn’t comprehend the purpose or value Twitter would add to business or society.
A tweet cannot be longer than 140 characters. This limit on the number of characters is the ideal gobstopper for those who like the sound of their own voice, metaphorically speaking. It also means the reader can digest an enormous amount of information very quickly.
It was only when I was introduced to the use of the shortened URL that I started to comprehend it. To you and I, a URL is a web address. By shortening a web address to 10 or 20 characters it meant any information available online could be posted on Twitter in less than 140 characters. The fad leapt from social media chit-chat to an incredibly versatile communication and business tool.
By 2013 it was estimated that Twitter had an astounding 200 million users and was valued at a staggering $33bn, seven times that of AGCO. But is it useful or just a medium for informing a wider audience of one’s banal everyday habits?
Farming has used Twitter in a more collaborative way than many other industries. Forums such as agrichatuk, teamdairy, clubhectare or the recently launched farmersoftheuk offer an excellent platform for discussion, communication and positive engagement with those inside and outside of farming.
But although Twitter thrives on brevity, there is still far too much farming drivel that undermines its strengths. It may only be 140 characters, but drivel is drivel. Many people will say I am being a curmudgeon and Twitter should just be fun. But I can’t be alone in having little interest in tweets about someone scraping the yard or changing points on a cultivator.
I understand that in the remote world of farmwork, Twitter can offer comfort and connection, but if the audience you were tweeting to were stood next to you on the farm, would they really be interested in the way you scraped the yard that morning? If not, don’t tweet it.
Casting aside the rubbish, and I am sure I have been guilty of tweeting my fair share, Twitter is the most amazing way of digesting news and information, much of which would have otherwise passed me by.
So should my friend have a Twitter account? Ironically, I think there is more merit in him having an account than myself. His staff would be able to raise the profile of the business and reach a wider audience. But the same rules apply – people aren’t interested in drivel.
Ian Pigott farms 700ha in Hertfordshire. The farm is a LEAF demonstration unit, with 130ha of organic arable. Ian is also the founder of Open Farm Sunday.