Twitter haters see no point in tweeting

SAN FRANCISCO -- Dave Magnusen has never used Twitter, yet it bugs him.

"It's a form of communication, but it's not very social," says Magnusen, 55, a database administrator in Durham, N.C. "You can't ignore (Twitter), but it's kind of sad how it's replaced people talking."

Tony Fuda feels the same way. The Niles, Ohio, native is particularly irked by tweets that insist on sharing the most mundane details of life.

"Do we really need to know that you just put your pants on, just brushed your teeth, just ordered a hamburger, just finished dinner, just walked out of the bathroom?" he says.

Magnusen's and Fuda's gripes underscore a strong undercurrent of resentment — and incredulity — by non-Twitter users toward the social-media service used by tens of millions.

Backlash among anti-Twitterers — reflected in scores of recent online comments to USATODAY.com — often center on unfamiliarity with the technology, its often narcissistic bent and the "random" use by many of its advocates, says Joseph Turow, a professor at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania.

"With the advent of every new medium — books, radio, TV, social networks — there is a built-in fear, social concern, that it will lead to lack of productivity and a general sense of dysfunction," he says. "This is one of the tropes of the arrival of any new media. Many consider Twitter a fad."

Twitter spokeswoman Jenna Sampson pointed to a recent blog post by Twitter co-founder Biz Stone. In it, he acknowledged the company has work to do in reaching out to those who are new to Twitter. "Defining a 'tweet' ... doesn't resonate with everyone," Stone wrote.

Earlier this month, Twitter bashers had another reason to send their tongues wagging: A new study concludes that 40% of tweets are "pointless babble."

Pear Analytics categorized 811 out of 2,000 random tweets over two weeks as babble. It categorized 751 (38%) as conversational, 174 (9%) as moderately interesting and 117 (6%) as self-promotional. Spam accounted for only 4%, or 75, of the tweets.