Whatever happened to… ? (vol. 2)
4In this installment of "Whatever happened to...?", I'd like to take a look at another phenomenon that seemingly vaporized long before its time - #irchat. Now, I don't mean the once weekly Twitter forum that devolved into a monthly forum that may or may not exist today... I mean the hashtag itself as a Twitter designation for useful information and thought-provoking discussions on a wide range of IR issues.
I don't know about you, but I rarely check this thread anymore. Where #irchat used to serve as a source for new ideas and healthy debate (admittedly some used it as a bully pulpit), it's now seems to be nothing more than a parking lot of retweets. Worse yet, its RT of stuff I suspect most tweeting haven't read as they go mute if you ask a question about the content. Seriously, not to go all "Lloyd Bentsen" on folks but I knew #irchat... #irchat was a friend of mine... #irchat is no (longer) #irchat.
I miss #irchat. I miss being able to throw out a question and get several different points of view to stretch my thinking and challenge my assumptions. I miss the laughs and the comradery.
Maybe I'm expecting too much... maybe that virtual, global community was never sustainable... maybe it just jumped the shark... I dunno... you tell me... whatever happened to #irchat?
