CLM 180º Is this GATHER or TWITTER?

Gatherites:

Wonder if anyone else has had this thought cross their mind ... is Gather becoming more like Twitter? Or is this just my imagination playing havoc?

The more I look & read some of the postings, the shorter & shorter they are becoming.

Seems like questions, arbitrary statements, & word games, quotes etc ... are becoming more & more popular. Not that I mind them, really! They do help our points to add up! Yet, I still appreciate the 'gather' fact also - being that we can all join in together and associate with who we really want to share with.

Perhaps it is all just a avalanche of passing information, thoughts, rants, raves, news, quotes, recipes, & the proverbial tweets ... that makes Gather so irrisitible. Ooooh, did I just add myself to the mix too? Yep!

What do you think?

Comments: 7

pamela r. Mar 27, 2009, 11:47am EDT

don't twitter so i cannot compare...........

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Rob Appell Mar 27, 2009, 11:47am EDT

I think Gather is really going into the toilet because of the content, or lack thereof, that's being 'shared'. I'm finding nowhere near as much that I'm even interested in looking at any more; not to mention the amount of posts has dropped off drastically as members leave the site. The thing that really gets me is when the 'fluff' is rated with 'perfect 10's' while good posts don't get rated the same....or get as many comments. On sentence posts or questions get 30 '10' ratings while a seriously worked on article gets 5-10 top scores.

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☀ Aunt Shanny Mar 27, 2009, 11:49am EDT

I like short postings. I rarely read the long ones.

If I want reading, I've got novels for that.

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Kevin (''The SiteWizard'') V. Mar 27, 2009, 12:40pm EDT

C.L.,

While it may appear that Gather's deteriorating content base would be good for points, the opposite is actually true. Fewer new members join the community (or stick around long). Plus, those posting this type of content ultimately reap the rewards, leaving less reader bandwidth for members with more serious pursuits.

The downward spiral began in earnest shortly before the beginning of the year.

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Pat D. Mar 27, 2009, 1:06pm EDT

I find it easier to avoid the junk at twitter than at gather. There are tons of great plug ins to help me see only the content I want.

I'm spending way more time at twitter than here.

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