Official Luthiers Forum!

OK Folks,
We've gone and done it! We now have an OLF Twitter account!
We will be doing all kinds of cool and fun stuff with it.

To kick it off we are going to be giving away a FREE set of Mahogany back and sides and an Engelman
top to a random follower of the OLF Twitter account. DRAWING ON MONDAY JUNE 1.
SO if your not on twitter yet, go to https://twitter.com/LuthiersForum to sign up and add us, OR if you are on Twitter click the "Follow" button to start following the OLF on Twitter!

Do not hesitate as we have ANOTHER set of wood to give away after the Mahogany/Engelman is gone.

We hope to make twitter an integral part of the OLF with announcement's, giveaways, sales etc!

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Support the OLF! Bookmark our STEWMAC link Today!
Lance@LuthiersForum.com

I am the first follower

done and done.

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-Marcus
http://www.bailieguitars.com
Instagram | YouTube

Nooooooooooooo!

Even though I am one of the (relativly) young ones here, I have to play the cranky old man and express my disgust with this Twitter fad. Not that the OLF will use it as most and twitter that you had frosted flakes for breakfast or that you just took a great #2, but twitter is just one of these usless fads and makes me sick every time a see some company try to jump on the bandwagon with Ashton Kutcher and start a Twitter page. I cant believe my beloved OLF got entangled in this. Whats wrong with the board as a board? rant...rant...rant

I do love free zoot, but I think I just answered the question on how far I'll go for free zoot...just short of Twitter.

I'm with Zach on this one.

Steve

Im sorry that you feel that way Zach, I also feel your comments would have been better served if you had kept them to your self.

I happen to like Twitter! I also happen to like the fun ideas that Brock and I have come up with to use Twitter.
If you dont want to participate, that is fine, I do understand. But to poopoo it makes no sense to me.
This announcement was not put up to solicited opinions.

Don't wanna play? Then simply dont play.

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Support the OLF! Bookmark our STEWMAC link Today!
Lance@LuthiersForum.com

I'm too old. i went and signed up, but I don't even know what twittering means.

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Jim Kirby
kirby@udel.edu

Its the "say what you gotta say in 140 characters or less" variant of blogging.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitter

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The member formerly known as erikbojerik....

It's my ball and I don't want to play anymore. So I'm taking it and going home.

LOL!

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I'm outside looking in, just farther from the window than most.

Just signed up . allthough I have no clue what it is. Like a blog thingy ? . I will look more into it soon. I am "LaurenceStahl" on the twitter

Ps-just6 glued the braces on my nr.3 top.

Lars.

Cool! Twitter is great and I can see how it could be very helpful to OLFers who are following something time sensitive such as an auction, contest, etc.

Thinking back to the early iterations of the OLF and it's respective forum software we've come a very long way.

Thanks Lance and Brock for all that you do for us!

I have no problem with Twitter per say. But you gotta admit, the name is ridiculous. Not something a grown man would admit to doing... "Hey buddy, do you twitter?" Pow! Right in the pie hole.
Anyway, I'm signed up. I'm not too proud when it involves free tonewood!

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Jim Womack

"Be thankful we're not getting all the government we're paying for. "
Will Rogers

Sorry if I offended you Lance. The topic thread was open for responses (not locked), so I put my opinion out there alongside those who stated their favorable opinions. If I didn't care about the OLF, I wouldn't have responded. I'm just using the forum to share my ideas and opinions. Isn't that what its all about?

Zach, im not offended, I put the thumbs up smiley there to hopefully show that.
I think I was just disappointed when I read this comment " twitter is just one of these usless fads and makes me sick every time a see some company try to jump on the bandwagon"
What purpose does it serve to express dislike or disgust for this idea?

Obviously we are excited to be doing this, we have a line up of freebies that we will be giving away via the OLF Twitter account.
We see it as a way to generate excitement, its fresh, its new, its another way for OLF'ers to be in touch. Is it a fad? Maybe, at one point you probably could have made the same argument for "internet forums"

I just dont get it I guess...

A'well, no harm no foul.

_________________
Support the OLF! Bookmark our STEWMAC link Today!
Lance@LuthiersForum.com

I had some internal resistance at first, but I'm totally in now.

Tweet on.

_________________
Mike

"The Dude abides. I don't know about you but I take comfort in that. It's good knowin' he's out there. The Dude. Takin' 'er easy for all us sinners. Shoosh." The Stranger

"Is that Dang Internet thing still around?"
Homer Simpson

I'm a follower.

I don't get it. If you are going to give stuff away then give it away here and that will lead to excitment I think. Personally I want to check in here to see what's happening here. Now I have to sign up for some other service and check that and then what ? I'm just getting to old I guess. I spend enought time as it is on the computer on the forums so I guess I ain't going to be playing with you guys at Tweeter's house. Why are you all just making things more complicated? I guess I just don't get it.

I 2nd zach or is that 3rd since someone else already 2nd his statement?

You know Zach, When blogs became all the rage I had the same initial reaction you're having to Twitter... thinking they would just become a personal diary... but look at what the blogsphere has become it has grown WAY beyond a fad-- clearly I lacked vision. When I first heard of Twitter I initially had the same gut level reaction. I thought this was another mindless tool for teenagers to keep their herd of friends up to speed on their every movement.

Then I read Joel Comm's book about how Twitter could extend communities and I was hooked. My head was overflowing with ideas. It is actually a really cool environment.

You know... we are not just a "forum", but a "community" of guitar builders, and our plan/vision is to begin to extend the community into other communication channels so members can always feel "in-touch" We think twitter is one way to do this. We have lots of other ideas too.

This might not be the right technology for you, but our plan is to make a suite of technology options available. We don't really think that everyone will use ALL of them, but there will be pockets of users who gravitate to their favorites.

If you don't like Twitter that is fine. The forum will be here, if you do like Twitter it will be another way to stay in touch with the community.

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Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

HAHA - I just decided to follow all OLF followers how they're twittering twitters

From now on I want to know about every shaving that you take of your braces

Christian

I think it would serve the building community to focus here and not get off track. Let's start spending our time getting some building tutorials togeather and teaching people how to build instead of getting side tracked with starting other forums and spending time Twittering or whatever it is. Frankly and not to be offensive but I don't see alot of teaching here lately other then Todd Stock and a couple of others.
That's my take on it.

really?

I think we do a pretty good job. I *DO* find your post offensive. You are certainly welcome to your opinion but presenting it as we are somehow taking our eye off the ball because YOU disagree with this initiative is insulting. Lance and I put a lot of time in on this forum and to have ideas you don't like or ones you don't even know about dismissed out of hand *IS* offensive. There are certainly nicer ways express negative opinions.

Maybe this twitter thing won't turn into anything, and then again, maybe it will -- in the end that will be up to the membership -- but how about we give it a fair shot?

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Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

Chris, at the end of the day, it doesn't honestly hurt you in any way, this twitter thing. You don't have to participate in it and those who do want to, can just waste their time on it instead of building guitars. As for me, I have no use for it, I find I waste to much time online to begin with.

Honestly, I've stopped caring about the 'extra' activities here on the OLF. There are things here that I personally think are stupid, but that doesn't matter to me any more. Let Lance and Brock be the captin's of the ship and just enjoy the ride. When it's no longer enjoyable, get off.

I give what I want, take what I can and just don't care any more about the rest.

As for the twitter thing, love it or leave it...and carry on.

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My Facebook Guitar Page

"There's really no wrong way, as long as the results are what's desired." Charles Fox

"We have to constantly remind ourselves what we're doing....No Luthier is putting a man on the moon!" Harry Fleishman

"Generosity is always different in the eye of the person who didn't receive anything, but who wanted some." Waddy Thomson

I'm one of those 'ol' timers' that abhors the whole concept of face book, twitter, etc...the whole online social networking thing...for one thing, I know just how easy it is to totally lie online and fabricate grandiose images....being real its almost as easy in real life, now isn't it?

fad?

maybe once this type of site could have been called that...not anymore...

getting past my own narrow minded views, it is simply the way a lot of things are being done in the here and now...lots of prominent people are involved (for better or worse) and many more are signing on daily...

harsh facts about most all forums: they die without new blood...they also cost money to run and keep running...

c'mon people, if casual 'passer byes' are directed to this forum it can only be seen as good advertisement for the whole concept of hand built guitars, as opposed to the typical Joe who thinks a Taylor or Martin is the pinnacle of existence...this benefits every luthier!

if new people pop in, become attracted to the whole concept of lutherie and start buying products from the sponsors then that can only do the forum good...

hell Chris, I bet this will result in more hits on your YouTube channel so I'm surprised to hear you voice negative opinions...yep, more tutorials (and you have some nice ones) and such certainly is nice, but if the same ol' same ol' are the only ones being exposed...well you get my drift...

As there have not been any details announced about how the OLF will utilize the Twitter technology, my comments were directed at Twitter in general. I have been aware of Twitter for probably a while longer than most, and I’ve been trying to find where it’s been used in a useful way. I’ve seen it as either the latest mechanism for teens and tweens to get or fell that there are getting the constant attention that they feel they need to validate their existence in this world; or a new way for companies to advertise. This is the same as myspace, facebook… There is this generational shift in thought that if the world doesn’t see you do something, it’s not worth doing or never happened. I see it in all ages, but how rampid it is in people under 30 is scary. It makes me seriously worry about the future of this country and its future adults, business leaders and government leaders. I’ll end the social commentary there.

With mobile internet and email becoming common, I see a lot of these new technologies such as twitter to be unnecessary and just being the latest thing for people to say there doing as they talk at the water cooler. What’s this difference if you get a SMS or an email now days? You can see both on a phone and a computer. You can read the OLF on many phones now. So why is a SMS notification going to add any value? Would email notifications add the same value? I was fairly neutral on the blog thing. I also see that as not having much differentiation from a single thread forum. By the way Lance and Brock, I do enjoy your blogs. Brock you need to start posting again. Its very inspirational.

I’ll try to keep an open mind on how the OLF will use Twitter. We’ll see if you can win my opinion over, but I still will probably not use it even if my opinion of its implementation here shifts. If you have what you think is a good idea, don’t let me of anyone else’s opinion change your mind. Prove us wrong. We’re just stating our opinions and that’s the beauty of our community here. And please don’t take this commentary as a knock on the OLF, not that you have. I’m probably one of the more passionate people about the value of the OLF due to the vast amount of knowledge I’ve gained here, and the wish that it remains as useful and easy a place to gain and share information as it has been.