Conan’s “Tonight Show” taunts Twitter
By Andrew Heining | 06.03.09
That didn’t take long.
Just two nights into his run as host of NBC’s Tonight Show, Conan O’Brien has taken aim at Twitter. Tuesday’s “Twitter Tracker” segment used spiffy onscreen graphics and an overly excited announcer to poke fun at Ashton Kutcher, Miley Cyrus, and actor/Allstate pitchman Dennis Haysbert. (?!)
O’Brien’s fun at Twitter’s expense comes in sharp contrast to new Late Night host Jimmy Fallon’s treatment of the microblogging service. Fallon is an enthusiastic twitterer, frequently mentioning the service on his show. Regular readers will remember the “make a random audience member a Twitter celebrity” stunt Fallon orchestrated with Kevin Rose back in March.
What does O’Brien’s Twitter snub mean? Could his Andy Rooney-like treatment of Twitter (”The youngsters, with their rock-n-roll music, are out there twittering”) mean that the former Late Night host, once known for his appeal to young people, is now aiming his act at an older, less tech-savvy audience? Or is Twitter just dumb, no matter the demographic? Sound off in the comments.
Or, uh … follow us on Twitter.
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3. John | 06.03.09
Twitter is the dumbest thing ever, face it no one cares that you just picked your nose.. or you just got out of a cab.. or you just had a hydrocolonic.
Your life is pretty much void of much meaning if the highlight of your day is posting or reading a post that someone just used a public toilet.
At least they named this service correctly, its definately for twits.
4. cody | 06.03.09
I think Conan is poking fun at how seriously people seem to be taking twitter. As a tool for getting in touch with friends, letting them know what your up to, it is great. But twitter has been so accepted by not only Hollywood celebrities but news organizations as well, and it is hard to take that seriously. There is a sense from people who follow celebs on twitter that they are somehow closer to that celeb, that they are seeing the “real” side of them, but it total nonsense. And if news could be told in 140 characters, then we would only have headlines and newspapers would have been simply news-sheet.
So no, Conan isn’t out of touch, he’s poking fun at something that is honestly a stupid fad. This is coming from a 23 year old tech savvy guy. Twitter is dumb.
6. Patrick | 06.03.09
I do not tweet, nor have I ever twit. Twitter is too high-maintenance to be of any good for long-term tracking of people or entities. If you want to follow an election or a band’s tour, it’s useful. If you want to keep informed all the time about someone, they will eventually give up because it’s just too annoying to tweet all the time.
7. Mutineer | 06.03.09
Hello…satire. Why does satire have to MEAN something? Can’t Conan be funny for funny’s sake?
Besides, it is very tempting (and easy) to poke fun at something that “tweets to tweeple”.
8. Ken | 06.03.09
What’s really strange about Twitter is how the mega-media outlets (i.e. CNN, MSNBC, etc) provide daily free advertising by talking about it all the time. Do we really need to know about Ashton Kutcher and/or how many Twitter friends he has?
I can’t wait for Twitter to go the way of Myspace (and soon, Facebook) — just another passé spot on the internet for narcissists with short attention spans.
9. mike | 06.03.09
Honestly I tried to understand Twitter. I just don’t get it. Maybe it’s the message length? I find the content banal.
10. RalphWSiegler | 06.03.09
are twitters (tweeters? twits?) lonely and wish themselves the center of the universe? I only know one person who actually twitter that who is over 30 years old, everyone else is of the opinion it is lame.
11. TwitterHater499 | 06.03.09
Twitter is the greatest joke every played on humanity. I feel physical pain in my stomach, head, and crotch everytime i hear someone saw tweet, twitter, twizzle or any of the other pointless jargon that these tweet-zombies spit out. Any self-respecting human with one half of one percent of their brain intact can see that Twitter is the internet’s equivalent of the walkie-talkie phone. Sounds kind of cool when you first hear about it, but once you get in there you realize your life has been made irreversibly worse by the decision. Ooops sorry guys i better go tweet about how i just threw up in my mouth while typing the word Twitter.
12. Jennye | 06.03.09
I don’t think he was being anti-Twitter. If anything, he just gave a bunch of free publicity for the application. He was just poking fun at how inane the celebrity use of it is, and at how egocentric it is for celebrities to think we would be interested in them stubbing their toe getting out of the car. And have you noticed the articles claiming that many celebrities Twitters are not even done by them. It’s pure self-promotion.
And last I heard, a comedian is supposed to make fun of the most popular thing going on in the world.
Personally, I have no interest in Twitter nor do I think people who do are dumb. I do know that most people enjoyed the skit for what it was, Twitterers or not.
13. narf | 06.03.09
twitter is just dumb, no matter the demographic.
narcissistic behavior encouraged through useless gadgetry and peripherals, buy now or you’re not cool! self-important people needing confirmation of their own existence and needing the adulation of their peers, a.k.a. complete strangers. i do so love to be reminded that our congressmen “tweet”.
there’s a term for this kind of technology. i heard it on “the boondocks” cartoon. i am not going to give it to you, search for it and you’ll nab it.
hey, what do i know? i don’t even wear a watch.
14. Ryan | 06.03.09
Twitter isn’t just dumb, it is just the newest dumb thing to come along on the http://WWW. In no time a new, hip, dumb thing will come along that we will all be expected to believe is cool.
16. Daniel | 06.03.09
I would like to have seen the ages of the people who have commented on this story. My take is most of the older generations certainly do not use technology in the same manner or frequency as younger people. Truthfully, I use Twitter coupled with an iPhone app called Twinkle to stay in touch with friends, and to meet new ones. Moreover, I consider myself a Squire of the people, so using Twitter to speak about conscience social issues is a great mode of community out-reach. Naturally, there are drawbacks to such services for those who attempt to exploit others. Especially, those that undermine the possible utility of Twitter stemming from their own technological bias. I am 26, peace. Thanks
17. Dave | 06.03.09
I’ll agree with the other people posting. Twitter is a dumb idea, and the fact that there are almost daily headlines featuring Twitter among the major news outlets is baffling. As has been observed with the Daily Show or Colbert, the comedians seem to be more in touch than the traditional news outlets.
19. Laura | 06.03.09
Twitter is beyond dumb!!! I am in the twitter demographic. Most of my friends can’t believe i don’t twitter.
20. Drew M | 06.03.09
I think this is primarily a case of the mainstream media outlets wanting to be out front on this one because it took them sooooo long to catch up with blogging/facebook/myspace etc. This one, they said “we’re going to prove we’re hip and relevant and be on the leading edge. Look folks, we tweet!” Too bad they finally chose to be cool on such a lame offering.
21. Wolfenheimer | 06.03.09
“Tuesday’s “Twitter Tracker” segment used spiffy onscreen graphics and an overly excited announcer to poke fun at Ashton Kutcher, Miley Cyrus, and actor/Allstate pitchman Dennis Haysbert.”
I think you missed the joke completely. The fun was aimed at people who take Twitter seriously, not the celebrities you mentioned.
24. John | 06.03.09
I find Twitter to be very useful. I am connected to hundreds of people in my same field of work and it’s an easy way to network and collaborate
26. Terri | 06.03.09
Twitter is great if you own a business and have information to share. Also, it is good for keeping in touch with family and friends because the “tweets” can be forwarded to other applications such as Facebook, which now forwards to Plaxo. Unfortunately, some people “tweet” ALL DAY LONG instead of just once a day or so for keeping in touch. Once a day is fine.
27. Twit | 06.03.09
I just burped, and I typed it on a website for everyone to read, therefore I am cool and trendy.
28. Voneta | 06.03.09
Can’t Twitter (and Twitterers) take a joke?! It’s Conan, people. That’s what he does. He makes fun of all entities. Stop taking him so seriously! He definitely isn’t intending anyone to do so…
30. CathyofTO | 06.03.09
I am huge Conan fan as well as a Twitterer and I didn’t get that feeling that he was snubbing Twitter at all. In fact, Conan has a twitter account: @theconezone, and it I felt he was laughing at the phenom as we all should, as it is a silly waste of time, but fun and addicting! Will Twitter be around in 5 years? Who knows. Will Conan? You betcha!
31. Twitterislame | 06.03.09
Andrew its like you’re making something out of nothing. Twitter is lame and its okay to make fun of it. Grow up and cover something interesting.
32. Jim | 06.03.09
Twitter is another (lame) passing fad. People, get a frickin’ life that doesn’t involve “connecting” with people 24/7.
33. scottrmcgrew | 06.03.09
Having never climbed Mt. Everest, or any mountain for that matter, I think I’ll write a blog about how dumb it is. What with me being an expert and all.
34. art | 06.03.09
The only purpose Twitter serves is ammusement. I watch my friends reveal TMI as they fall victim to the stupid trend. I know it shouldn’t be, but it is actually rather funny and makes me feel (just a little) superior as a non-tweeter.
35. Josh | 06.03.09
Step back for a moment and ask, what is twitter? It is a microblogging service, yes, but it’s also a de facto RSS reader, but one with lots of collaborative, viral potential. E.g. you can see what other people are reading.
As for the short content, yes it can be bland, but you don’t have to follow those people. Some of the best stuff consists of a short summary and a hyperlink, all of which fits in 160 characters.
Try some alternative Twitter clients, and see if it works for you. (I don’t use twitter all that much, BTW)
36. fletchboy | 06.03.09
When I read all the comments, I thought, “If I had a time machine, I’d like to warp back to the early days of radio, TV, e-mail…etc…and read the comments on a similar article about that ‘new technology’ and see if it wasn’t bashed in the same ways.” If it is just a fad, you don’t have to pontificate about it. It will go away whether you pontificate or not. If it is here to stay, you don’t have to join in and use it. If you hate it, ignore it. Walk away. You’ll survive. If you love it, then by all means use it.
38. DAN | 06.03.09
i WILL NOT EVEN MENTION IT’S NAME BLA BLA BLA - YEA CONAN AND HIS BALBEARING’S If you want somthing to go away quit talking about it…. I TOUGHT I SAW A PUDDY CAT.
39. Steewiee | 06.03.09
Haha all the people slaging off twitter have no idea about technology it seems…
Twitter was a UNREGULATED 140 character blog site.
Which in this day in age (1985 George Orwell) was very refreshing…
Did you know that the chinese have now blocked this service along with other messenging software???
go back to your cave!
its not all albout celeb’s picking their nose if you don’t beleive me check out my twitter page then u’ll get a freakin shock!!!
41. maikeru76 | 06.03.09
Well, its dumb to those who can’t get it; high-maintainance if you don’t get smart on it, and allegedly profitable to a privileged few…
Conan satire is spot on! A great counterbalance to Fallon’s Twitter “fanboy-ism” vein, Keep it comin’!
42. annabanna | 06.03.09
There are some professions which could benefit from Twitter. Kim Jong Il could use it to rely propaganda to a larger audience. Doctors or surgeons might be able to get some benefit. Perhaps CEO or business people who don’t own a blackberry. However, I really don’t think that there’s a need for microblogging. If your friends and family are aware of your every move, then what’s left to talk about when you see them?
44. Bigus Dickus | 06.03.09
Twitter is just stupid. Fallon knows it, but thats his audience. You can tell, deep down he knows its ridiculour. C’mon, hes 34 years old.
45. Michael | 06.04.09
Twitter is just dumb. This coming from a hyper-connected iPhone carrying 20-something.
46. Michael | 06.04.09
The irony to this entire article and all of our comments is the GIANT “Click here to start following!” Twitter ad on the right side of this page!
48. Huth | 06.04.09
I don’t feel as if Twitter’s so dumb; it’s simply a child’s toy and fad, an electronic pet rock. To me what’s dumb are the older celebrities and stars of “old media” falling all over themselves trying to show how “with it” they are by taking part in the childish fad. That’s like when you’re a teenager and your mom or dad tries to dress like a kid and run with you and your friends: in short, pitiful.
49. wendell wilkie | 06.04.09
I think one of the reasons that Conan dissed TWitter is that it has become the lastest fad among celebrities. He knows very well that far too many people take the habits of celebrities as being gospel for their own lives. Far too many of us are infatuated with celebrities, what they do, what they wear, what they say, where they live. Why? Celebrities are just people, and not much different than you or I except that they lead lives much more in the public view and are typically very rich. But that is all. There are plenty of people leading interesting lives, doing great things, that will never get the publicity that a celebrity receives simply because those people are not in the entertainment industry or on TV or cable.
It’s time to turn off the TV and go outside; it’s springtime people!
50. George Samuels | 06.04.09
Twitter grows out of freedom of speech. It allows a person using an alias to dispay lack of knowledge and care. It shows how an alias can spend time and wonder. Perhaps belief in Twitter has becomer a new Faith. However newpapers, magazines, reporters, and writers that believe in Twitter lose reliance, relevance, and faith.
51. @ John and Annabanna | 06.04.09
Thank you for mentioning that in some fields it is useful and helpful. I can see numerous uses for microblogging communication among theatre contacts. I don’t use twitter since I’m not currently doing any work that requires me to be that closely connected to everyone, but the next time I do a full scale musical–it is likely to be one of many contact tools. I hate giving anyone an excuse to not know what is going on and Twittering is frankly faster and more immediate to those running around than Facebook or gmail. Use it or ignore it, I don’t care, but recognize that others may find it valuable.
52. rml | 06.04.09
i read the creators of Twitter mention using it during a crisis like an earthquake for recovery. how far us Americans have taken our ego need to be stars in our everyday lives. i’m under 40. i’m under 35. i think Twitter is a complete joke in its current form. Facebook is a e-phonebook. if you need these to “connect” with people than you need to make serious changes to your life.
53. Laurie | 06.04.09
I only saw one other comment about using Twitter the way I use it - for networking in my career field - I follow other teachers who use technology in their classrooms and have great ideas and resources to share. It’s been a big help to this busy teacher who doesn’t have time to read more than 140 characters some days!
55. Waylon | 06.04.09
Twitter is only dumb to those who haven’t tweeted much. Once you ‘get it,’ you see it’s just another great communications and community-building tool. Before I used tweetdeck, a twitter ‘dashboard,’ I didn’t get twitter and thought it was so much more ’sound and fury.’ Now, it’s a top 5 traffic source for my web site, and I’ve got a few media awards for using it in only a few months. It’s fun. It’s easy, simple, straightforward. It’s new media, baby!
56. ExposingTyranny | 06.04.09
Is twitter ridiculous? You bet. It’s nothing more than another social networking “tool” for 20-somethings and 30-somethings that never mentally progressed past high school; it’s also an ingenious way for the government to get the population to voluntarily submit to perpetual surveillance.
But oh well… it’s an excellent way to advertise for free and it generates site traffic for me.
57. Shaun R | 06.04.09
Twitter is banal bc PEOPLE are banal. The marketers have turned us all into consumers who expect to be entertained 24/7.
Any ideas for how to help ppl realize that thinking, working, contributing, introspecting, understanding, loving, forgiving, and connecting on deeper levels are far more rewarding than wearing the right jeans and driving the right car? That’s what we need.
58. Realy | 06.04.09
Facebook’s status thing was never good for anything but humor, twitter won’t be either.
60. Victor | 06.04.09
If it wasn’t for Twitter, I wouldn’t have known about this story. Twitter is news, connecting with people, even meeting people in person. Twitter is not for kids, like Facebook. Twitter opened doors to business for me, and I met in person many interesting people because of Twitter.
61. daungsorcerer | 06.04.09
twitter is the maccarena of the digital realm. twitter WILL go the way of Second Life, just a matter of time.
62. Nick | 06.04.09
Twitter is no more or less stupid than the people using it. I mean each and every person, not “people in general”. If your network consists of people who use this resource uncreatively and insipidly (”I burped”), thats what you are going to get.
I know people who use it semi-professionally, to disseminate information about websites, happenings, news, etc. Occasionally how they feel, or something banal.
I don’t use it, because I have no use for it. I text individual people who I need to relay info to. In fact, I had an account and I canceled it.
Twitter doesn’t make people stupid, people make Twitter stupid.
63. Tempo | 06.04.09
Twitter is dumb. Specifically, it requires a dumb assumption about how important one’s own, moment-to-moment thoughts and experiences are to the world at large.
Unfortunately, as each and every scintillating comment posted on this weighty topic demonstrates, we are also quite dumb in exactly this slightly narcissistic, but basically functional way. Expect Twitter to be a thing for a while.
64. Freddy | 06.04.09
It’s blatantly obvious that the great majority of you have no idea what you can or can’t do with twitter. If you can’t halfway explain why twitter IS popular then you shouldn’t have anything to say at all. Do some research and then include yourself in a conversation worth listening to. And for those who swear they are “techy” and “savvy”, you obviously didn’t see it fit your style or whatever.. and it was simply not for you. Does that make it dumb? Millions of other people are just flat out dumb because almighty YOU decided so.. give me a break… If you don’t like it, let it be. Don’t make a fool of yourself trying to sound smart by making others seem dumb.
65. Carla | 06.05.09
Twitter is a medium to share thoughts, ideas, and information with people you may or may not know and to get to know people you may not have ever met. It is a bit narcissistic to tweet about your life and expect others to be interested, but it’s fun - and that’s fine with me. I’m 32 and I tweet. - I wouldn’t dare let my teen do it though.
66. rehaz | 06.05.09
conan can use tweeter tracker like the SAT exams and his celebrity surveys… lighten up tweeple… hehe
67. the anti-twit | 06.06.09
Seriously, it’s the new LiveJournal, only with less words.
It’s a pointless fad.
Waiting for it to die out any second.
And I’m a tech savvy 22 year old. This website is a joke.
68. Bill DL | 06.14.09
I think we have to all ask ourselves what the hell “micro-blogging” is, don’t you?
It’s mobile text messaging by a different medium. In the same way that text messaging can be an indispensible tool to those who use it for useful purposes, so too can this type of interaction. Nobody has the right to judge what is “useful”. What may be a purposeful text message to one person may be seen as superfluous and useless junk communication by others.
All you have to do is look out on the street, in restaurants, on public transport, in cinemas and theatres, and you will be aware that technology has generated a nation of people who are terrified and lost if they aren’t visibly seen clutching a mobile phone. I witnessed a man sitting in a court room as the accused person listening to the evidence against him in what was a serious charge pulling his mobile phone out of his pocket to answer a text message. I am not sure whether he later had the opportunity from his jail cell to text all his friends to tell them his sentence had been extended by 6 months for “contempt of court”.
Yes, I know this discussion is about Twitter and not mobile texting, but to me (and many others) it is practically one and the same in several ways.
1. It has bred a very significant portion of the population in many countries who don’t know what Title case is, nor how to punctuate statements and sentences.
2. It provides the medium for the exchange of totally meaningless exchanges merely because the means to do so are so readily available to those who have nothing better to do with their time.
Free texts and freely available “micro-blogging” amounts to the same result: if it is available, then many use it even if they have nothing of any importance to say. We’re back to the “what is important” question, but that is an easy thing to test. If someone had to pay to say what they have just posted or sent as a text, then having to think twice before doing so would have determined the importance.
The art of meaningful conversation is rapidly diminishing before our eyes, and there are those who now cannot complete a job application form without using abbreviations and acronyms. I’m sure there must be some people who must wonder how, with a pen clutched uncomfortably in their claws, how to convert 
into a smiley emoticon in a passport application or end of year report.
Yes, twitter is useful in some ways, but for the most part it is perpetuating the inane drivel that now has become so essential to the lives of so many, and so annoying to the rest of us who only communicate meaningful dialog.
Bill - 45 year old I.T. consultant.
69. Joe | 06.16.09
A couple of nights later Conan made a joke in his ‘year 3000′ segment where Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube all combine in to a new website called ‘YouTwitFace.” Hilarious and true
70. Jeff McNeill | 06.19.09
Clearly the readership of the csmonitor is largely ignorant, willfully so, and opinionated, nonetheless. Sounds rather banal. About as banal as most twitter posts. Yet, decidedly less so than others. Therefore it is this article and comments which win the banality wars, and Twitter, which can thankfully be repurposed at will, can escape on occasion.
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1. Robert | 06.03.09
Twitter is just dumb. No matter the demographic.