“It’s just people.”

I caught this clip from Penn Jillette at the recent BlogWorld Expo. He talks about his use of Twitter and in so doing, uses that phrase to break down how he looks at all media. It’s sums up perfectly how to discuss all of this. I’d disagree with him on one point though. (Yes he has 1.6 million more followers than me and is headlining in Vegas, but I have rights, officer.)

So where he says Twitter can be a more intimate experience than talking to someone in real life, I don’t see it happening; not literally, and not figuratively based on watching Twitter since it began. This is something we talked about on the latest AdVerve – shameless plug – where the biggest misconception being perpetrated is the idea that the inherent nature of social networks is based on intimacy.

For some extroverts who let loose with every last detail of their lives, maybe. Even others quietly lurking behind a screen without participating could be considered intimate in some ways – easy, you freaks – but the vast majority of people act online the way they would if speaking in-person with someone, maybe even more formally. As Penn says, a younger generation will more open about things, but it seems social networks are only as intimate as people allow them to be based on their own comfort levels.

And as comfortable as you might become with your network of friends, deep down in places you don’t talk about at parties, you still hold back a lot of your very private self. Every social network start-up though keeps chasing this idea that theirs alone is the only place to be to aggregate and share your life with others.

(Via.)