So you don’t like Twitter, huh? Lots of pablum, not much content? No real human-to-human connectedness? Well you’re wrong, Mr. Ludd, because Twitter helped two guys meet Shaq.
Jesse Bearden was following The Real Shaq on Twitter and saw that he was at a diner near his office. Instead of saying “Twitter is not a uniter, it is an egocasting system designed for infantile neophiliacs who have little to offer the world except search engine optimization snake oil and web marketing consulting,” Jesse and his buddy went down to the diner and saw Le Shaq sitting in a booth getting his feed on.
They did a few passes and then Shaq twittered:
I feel twitterers around me, r there any twitterers in 5 n diner wit me, say somethin
The Force is strong with this one! Long story short, they sat down with Shaq, had some pictures taken, and found out that Mr. O’Neal was a great guy with a genuine interest in gadgetry.
“Of course” he said, “Pull up a seat” The behemoth slid over and patted the booth next to him. As I pulled out my phone to take a picture he snatched it out of my hand and inspected it.
“What’s this got? Windows Mobile?”
“Um… yeah”
So before you go off half-cocked saying Shaq is using the service for what amounts to free publicity in the nerdy emo irony circuit a la Mr. T, remember that Shaq is just a boy, sitting in front of two boys, asking them to accept his direct messages.
Shaq is the biggest baby on the planet
So your response to readers’ annoyance that the twitter hype is just that, all hype, is to show how someone met shaq via twitter?
Yeah, TC really proved its point. You showed the readers.
p.s. Referring to the twitter dissenters as ‘Mr Ludd’ is a nice touch. That should endear you to them.
Yeah. This TC-twitter nexus is really getting to me. So many borrring posts on Twitter. Twatter, I say.
Oooh: Twatter!
You really told us something!
Twitter is here and taking over, sign on or be left in the dust of the old blogosphere. Which unfortunately is where I reside because I can’t stand walled in sites, no matter how popular they are!
Cool stuff, famous celebs taking advantage of tech.
I know 3 people who told me they are following the real Shaq on twitter. My come back was simply, “you’re pathetic”. I mean really? Is this what people’s lives have come to? Following Shaq’s 140 character posts. What next? You all follow Carrot Top? I’m sick of twitter and these twitter posts.
When it’s news, fine, but posts like this are just pointless bloat for my RSS reader and there are a lot of these posts.
Is “getting his feed on” a play on words? : ]
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&hs=i4w&q=%22getting+your+feed+on%22&btnG=Search
Welcome to Modern English Chapter 1: Idioms
Great story, would be nice if you linked to the original blog post as it was a well told story.
Oh, and btw it’s O’Neal with an ‘a’
Yeah, fixed that. I checked and somewhere it said O’Neil. And I always link, cranky pants.
Oops, my bad … notice the link is there.
I am from #phx follow @The_Real_Shaq, aka the Big Cactus. He is pretty funny, or as he would say “quotatious”. He tweets a lot and interacts all the time.
I think this is really an amazing story showing the power of Twitter.
I’m also surprised someone so famous would be so open to where he is at any moment.
True, although unlike 99.99% of all other very famous people, I am sure Le Shaq does not have any insecurities about his physical presence…. anywhere.
I guess there are a *few* benefits to being 7+feet tall, 320+lbs, and athletic.
For those who doubt the value of Twitter, here is the conversation thread for Shaq. http://twitter.tearn.com/2009/02/therealshaq.html
We’ve released thousands of conversation channels at http://gf.tearn.com/ and related sites. Lots of vibrant conversations among millions of people – about people, places, and topics.
The Twitter luddite is the same person at a party with no-one to talk to. ;-)
@MarkOLM – wow… they didn’t link to the original blog post? How F’n rude can you be! That’s why I really like that tumblr thing I finally started. I already posted about this hours ago – and it’s way old news anyways – from 2/19/09 – 2 days ago. Surprised that TC/CG is just reporting this, but to not link is not cool:
Here is my tumbl on it:
http://rexdixon.tumblr.com/post/80252908/returning-to-our-hushed-whispers-i-asked-sean
Which links to the site here:
http://sesquipedalis.blogspot.com/2009/02/finally-use-for-twitter.html
OMG! I know right! How WUDE!
that’s not shaq
and yes i don’t like t
@the_real_shaq stopped by a post game Suns “Tweet Up” to meet all the Twitterites. Very gracious, very cool guy with amazingly large hands and feet.
Well, technically speaking we were at work, not at home. Sean was the twitter-er, I just wrote the story, and insisted that we go.
Close enough though.
Thanks for the plug
Sorry. Great story, though.
Shaq dont come around here No More {seesmic_video:{”url_thumbnail”:{”value”:”http://t.seesmic.com/thumbnail/iG1gwMJDBF_th1.jpg”}”title”:{”value”:”Shaq dont come around here No More ”}”videoUri”:{”value”:”http://www.seesmic.com/video/59RruqUeF3″}}}
I used to work out at the same gym as Shaq in LA. He talked to just about everyone who came in the weight room area where he was bench pressing 6000 or whatever it was. I was busy with my sets and am not much of a sports fan so ignored him. He really didn’t like that. He stopped what he was doing and said, “hey you–come over here and talk to me.” I don’t know if he was lonely, or flirting with me or what. I just went on with my sets, though I confess I told a bunch of people the story later.
I think that`s cool that he shared where he was… only locals would know what he meant anyways, or would be close enough to jet over there to meet him. It`s his own way of keepin it real, you know? It`s gotta be hard to be THAT famous! i`m sure sometimes he just wants to be a guy in a diner!
The powers of Twitter :)
It’s impressive that this is now possible through technology but imagine in future if someone who dislikes a celebrity turns up after finding out their location.
Take Chris Brown for instance if he were to post a similar tweet their would be backlash!
#’there’ would be backlash…
hmm..you use one instance of a human connection that is made to generalize to entire population? Ok, it’s a nice story, but an n of 1.
I remember reading that tweet! I wish I was in that diner. That would have been awesome.
what a convincing post, you totally changed my mind about twitter. supernatural rhetorical powers…
wow
this is about shaq marketing shaq, not shaq being your “friend”… come on peeps, wake up to the marketing gimmick
Shaq cracks me up. Did you see him dancing at the NBA All-Star game? Shaq + Jabbawockeez = Shaqawockeez!!! Hahaha…dude is a true entertainer. Here’s the vid of him dancing http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmbh7pqYFDw&feature=related
nice article
I love the little “Notting Hill” reference…anyway Shaq is a great guy. woot.
well , Must i believe this thing ? Do i have to ? or Do i need to ? Such a paranoid am stucked in .
THough , Its true . Twitter and other social web applications are enabling the new dynamic Class of E-People get in sync with different people and get to see the different strata of the society. :)
I Feel good about John , surely . I can feel the happiness and the Joy in his eyes , sitting with the Big Guy around.
Now i kind of feeling jealous about , why i am not being able to meet any such celebrity ? Well , i Have my Fingers crossed already and i just added Mr. President of U.S in the Followings List. (Such an optimistic , i am .)
Peace !
Not that surprising. He’s supposedly a super nice guy, and Cracked just ranked him #1 celebrity to follow on Twitter.
Nice one…
Since using twitter I stay in touch with more people and write fewer posts. All my tweets autopost to my main site anyway. TwitterFox really needs a timestamp option. Maybe I should write one.
Saweeet!!!!
Now I can use Social Networking Tools to track down celebrities for Autographs!!!!!
No, Twitter really IS a useless waste of IM bandwidth, as bad as JIll my BFF etc.
awesome, I like shaq
All it does is further show that the kind of people that use twitter don’t have a lot to do with their time. Not everyone would run off to the local chip shop just to have a peep at Shaq.
These TC guys are turning into a bunch of jokers. When is Michael Arrington back.
Hey, big shaq is twitting, cool…
got to follow him :)
All that and you couldn’t take a proper photo! ?
Hi Shaq, I am from Lynchburg, Va. . I know you have been here and are good Friends with some of my Friends at Liberty u. and Thomas Road Bapt. Ch.. Are you still a Cop and if you see me on Smith Mtn Lake, please don’t give me a ticket…Thanks , Randy
Cool, i will go to use teitter now.
“Twitter” was mentioned 32 times in this article before I posted my comments and you still can’t spell twitter?
Since the e is next to the w wouldn’t you suspect that it was a simple typo and cut the guy some slack or are you paid to be a grammar Nazi?
Since the e is next to the w , yes!
I know, why can’t he spell Tpitter?
I am sorry, because of want to use Twitter quickly so make this wrong.
Now some idiot stalker person is gonna go and try to meet someone like Johnen Vasquez or a real celebrity who tweets, and get cussed out, rejected or whatever and then feel all sad.
Also, I like how Yuan yu spells twitter “teitter”
tell me how it goes using teitter.
-AK
If Shaq actually did want to use Twitter to connect as he seems to be saying to these guys, one would think he’d follow more than a couple hundred of the tens of thousands following him.
cool story. i wonder if shaq will say where he is next time, though.
A total marketing ploy, but brillant. Keep it up Shaq!
If used correctly, Twitter can be awesome.
The most important advice is to be… Shaqful ! :)
I met shaq in orlando once when i was in college, he was the biggest asshole I ever met, so I reminded him of his rap career. Whats up doc? can we Rock?
Nice! Twitter is awesome. Follow me here: http://www.twitter.com/thefilmstage
Perhaps Shaq should go to practice, instead wasting his time on twitter…no wonder The Suns suck this year…
I had a similar situation with Dr. Drew over the weekend. We were both at a private event up at Universal and because I saw him twittering (on my iPhone), I felt comfortable walking up to him and introducing myself, referencing his ridiculous twittalogue with Rainn Wilson about mermaid genitalia. I normally wouldn’t have bothered him, but his openness on twitter sparked the intro. Another ridiculously nice, classy guy.
WTF?
So to prove the point that Twitter has value, you post a story about some fan getting a chance to masticate with Shaq? WHO THE FUCK CARES?
Thanks for proving the point that Twitter is pretty much worthless for any average person who isn’t in love with their own thoughts.
Twitter: helping you stalk celbribities with ease.
I sincerely doubt this would be cool with anyone but Shaq. That big lug’s a great guy.
Watch his dance with the Jabawokeez
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0J8A_KpbYf8
Ha. I Mixxed, and stumbled this one. Shaq is gonna be a lard butt if he don’t stop tweetin and eatin and get back into the gym!
Thanks everyone for sharing your opinions and time Shaq! He is truly one of the greatest basketball players out there!
That is absolutely nutz. Too funny – I am surprised that Shaq actually does his own tweets.