Are any members of the present company on Twitter? I subscribed a few days ago and have seen quite a few messages about Amtrak, some complaints but many compliments. Hard to say much in 140-character tweets, however.
Trip reports in 140 characters? Hmmmm....
Anyway, I'm HenryKisor there.
Posted by Vicki (Member # 3410) on :
I admit to being one of those twits on Twitter although I don't tweet much. I am now following you, however.
Posted by Gilbert B Norman (Member # 1541) on :
Surprise---
Guess what, I do know what Twitter is; therefore I'm not part of the 26% cited in an ad by a telecommunications company (Sprint IIRC) stating 26% of the population do not know what is a Tweet.
Posted by smitty195 (Member # 5102) on :
I confess that I have no idea how to work Twitter. I have looked at the website in the past, and I even signed up a few months ago. But I still don't get it. What are people supposed to do with it?
The only thing I've used it for over the last few days is to follow the progress of the UP 844 steam train as it comes through California. I've been following it here:
Beyond that, I have no clue how to work it.
Posted by HopefulRailUser (Member # 4513) on :
I'm with you Smitty. I just signed up to send a message to the sports news show PTI. I did that but I don't get what is going on. It seems all one sided, questions are asked but where are the answers? Henry help us out.
Posted by Ocala Mike (Member # 4657) on :
smitty: Here is a link to a good website with fantastic shots of UP844 going through Utah. My son lives in Salt Lake City, and he, being an avid railfan, clued me in about this excursion run by UP, though this is not his site.
I don't get twitter either, but I'm on there as ocalamike (oddly enough). I'll be following you now, Henry K.
Posted by Henry Kisor (Member # 4776) on :
I am the last person in the world to ask how to work Twitter. After four days on it I'm still floundering around and wondering if it's simply an enormous boondoggle.
My agent, however, encouraged me to join and participate -- she says it's a great marketing device for authors. Maybe so for others, but in my case that remains to be seen.
Posted by Gilbert B Norman (Member # 1541) on :
A review of the linked material suggests that commercial applications of this 'tweet" is moving forth.
This leads me to ask what use, if any, could a passenger transportation company make of such?
Posted by Judy McFarland (Member # 4435) on :
Maureen Dowd has a great column on Twitter today in the New York Times. I confess I don't "tweet" - YET. And I have texting blocked on my cell phone - guess I am definitely no fun!
Posted by Henry Kisor (Member # 4776) on :
I generally dislike Dowd -- she is too mean-spirited for my taste (often she sounds like a liberal Ann Coulter) -- but her column on Twitter is bang on.
Posted by Vicki (Member # 3410) on :
quote:Originally posted by Gilbert B Norman: Surprise---
Guess what, I do know what Twitter is; therefore I'm not part of the 26% cited in an ad by a telecommunications company (Sprint IIRC) stating 26% of the population do not know what is a Tweet.
I just asked my husband if he knows what a Tweet is. He said "That's what we give the dogs!"
Posted by RRRICH (Member # 1418) on :
I have no idea what "Twitter" is -- is this something like Face Book or MySpace?
Posted by HopefulRailUser (Member # 4513) on :
I believe we need someone under the age of 25 to leap in here and help us out.
Is there any such person among our group?
Posted by yukon11 (Member # 2997) on :
Ocala Mike and Smitty:
I just saw a rerun of the Extreme Trains episode on the UP 844 and its run from Cheyenne to Denver then back to Cheyenne.
Does the 844 make regular, scheduled excursions throughout the year, or is it only special excursions for special events? I sort of got the impression that the Cheyenne-Denver-Cheyenne trip was a one-time event to pick up passengers going to the Cheyenne rodeo, and that it doesn't happen every year.
Richard
Posted by Ocala Mike (Member # 4657) on :
Richard: I saw that too last night. Here's help with your question:
Thanks Mike. I put the site into favorites. I guess you must get the International History Channel..that's where I saw it. There are a couple of episodes I never saw, originally, on the reg. Hx Channel..so hope they are repeated on the International Hx Channel.
Richard
Posted by TwinStarRocket (Member # 2142) on :
Count me in with the folks who have no idea what "Twitter" is. And I never heard of "tweet" in this context until this thread. I do remember a little Morse code from Boy Scouts though. Does that still qualify as high tech?
Posted by Ocala Mike (Member # 4657) on :
Richard: I have Premium Directv, and I sometimes don't even know what channel I'm watching (I'm an incurable channel surfer, much to my wife's horror). I do believe it was HINT (History International).
Posted by ehbowen (Member # 4317) on :
TwinStar: According to Wikipedia, Morse Code has been in use longer than any other electronic data encoding system. It is also the only one which is designed to be received and sent directly by human beings without the aid of any decoder device. In speed contests between expert Morse code operators and expert cellphone SMS text messaging users, Morse code has consistently won. Perhaps it is high time for a comeback?
Posted by yukon11 (Member # 2997) on :
Morse code is still used by amateur radio operators ("hams"). I have used it since getting my ham license back in 1980. Unfortunately (at least to my thinking), morse code comprehension is no longer required for ham licenses. I still use the code for DX contacts with other countries. Having a modest antenna system it seems to allow easier contacts, especially when distance station reception is not the greatest.
The original American morse code was also referred to as "radio morse code"..and differed, somewhat, from todays International Morse Code. Copying railroad code with those old "sounder" boxes, I think, would be have been difficult and took a lot of skill.