I really can’t say I left Twitter for 24 hours because all we discussed was Twitter the entire time. It was a great experience and the atmosphere was completely positive contrary to what many thought it would be.

So, was it successful? I think so.

My goal from all this was to spark discussion and raise awareness about the Twitter situation. We did that and then some. What started as an experiment among four people has hit major outlets in a short amount of time (less than a week!).

Something very important: It was always about the high-road. We talked about many topics during the Twit-Out. Most of them involved improving Twitter, ways of submitting feedback to Twitter, things we love about Twitter and finally, Twitter alternatives and competition. In no way was anyone out to sabotage or take down Twitter. As a matter of fact, everyone who organized the Twit-Out was ecstatic when Twitter admitted they don’t know what the problem is. Communication!!

I’m not going to go on and on about it since I expect many more conversations to follow the event. I’ve summarized many of the conversations that occurred on FriendFeed, while Shey has given a great summary as well as ways to find out what happened. If nothing else, skim over the conversations, and tell us what you think. Do you agree or disagree?

I’d also like to point out that this was a great example of how to utilize FriendFeed to promote discussion. No, this wasn’t a ploy to get everyone to switch to FriendFeed, but it definitely was meant to show the power of discussion on the site. Even though I ran into some technical difficulties during the Twit-Out, FriendFeed was a great place to discuss the Twitter situation.

We don’t want Twitter to fail and we were willing to stop using it for an entire day to talk about what could possibly be done to help. I think today’s admittance of the problem is a giant first step in the right direction.

Related posts:

• Twit-Out Conversations. Join in!
• Twit-out Preparation: Are you ready?
• Twit-out: The Day Without Twitter

Today is the Twit-Out! Thanks to all those who are participating. Over on FriendFeed, we are discussing many topics surrounding the Twit-Out. Robert Scoble suggested this Twit-Out FAQ thread for all your questions. Here’s a quick run-down of just some of the conversations:

• How you think Twitter can improve their service?
• Let’s talk about why we love Twitter so much. We put up with so much, yet we don’t hesitate to recommend it to others. Express yourselves
• Can we save Twitter with Open-Source?
• Who are Twitter’s competitors?
• What is your opinion of how Twitter handled this past week’s outages?
• Have you ever sent feedback to Twitter via Getsatisfaction? If so, do you think it works?
• Do you believe a potential solution is to build our own Twitter?
• Has The Twit-Out today persuaded anyone to totally stop using twitter?
• Would a decentralized Twitter work?
• 10 hours left of Twit-Out. How’s it going for you? Any withdrawal yet?
• 6 hours left in the Twit-Out. Do you all consider it a success or failure? Why or why not?
• With all the Extended, Intensive FF activity, why hasn’t it shut down or at least burped yet???
• On another note, has your producitivty increased now that you’ve closed Twitter for the day?
• Idea: Twit-Out the Soundtrack – What would be good songs to add? My additions: “Revolution” by The Beatles and “You’ve Got A Friend In Me” by Randy Newman (Final Soundtrack)
• What have you learned so far from the Twit-Out process?

To get a sense of what people are talking about, use this FriendFeed search. What are you waiting for? Join the discussion!

The Twit-Out is NOT out to get rid of Twitter, replace Twitter, or to even make Twitter look bad. Our purpose is to raise awareness, promote discussion, and to make Twitter even better. Twitter <3.

Related posts:

• The Twit-Out Aftermath
• Twit-out Preparation: Are you ready?
• Twit-out: The Day Without Twitter

Tomorrow, May 21, is the Twit-out. If you’re lost read the many many posts out there regarding the subject. This post is for those who wish to participate and could use a few pointers on how to truly avoid Twitter.

Avoid reading blogs that talk about Twitter. You know who they are.

If you are participating in the Twit-out tomorrow, what do you recommend? Leave your suggestions in the comments please.

Related posts:

• The Twit-Out Aftermath
• Twit-out: The Day Without Twitter
• Twit-Out Conversations. Join in!

A while ago, a guy on FriendFeed that goes by the name Shey, suggested something interesting:

What if we decided to just stop using Twitter one day, and move over to FriendFeed for our status updates, link posting, and whatever else we use Twitter for? I jokingly responded that we’d have many chances to try it since Twitter seems to go down fairly regularly. Today, Twitter was down for a few hours and FriendFeed was on fire due to all the Twitter refugees. So then, I decided to post the following:

Let’s have a Twitter boycott day! To my (pleasant) surprise, quite a few people responded and thanks to Susan Beebe, we now have the name “Twit-out”

So on May 21, 2008, we ask that you close your Twitter clients, disable your Twitter Google Talk, add a loopback entry for twitter.com in your host file, tie a string around your finger, and REBUKE the name of Twitter on May 21!! So what to do instead of Twitter? Give FriendFeed a try! C’mon, it’ll be fun and you’ll be surprised as to how much fun there is to be had over at FriendFeed. Create an account today and join the discussion.

Related posts:

• Twit-out Preparation: Are you ready?
• The Twit-Out Aftermath
• Twit-Out Conversations. Join in!