Twitter Ye Not!

[french frank]

Professionally acquainted with general as well as a range of applied statistical methods, I wouldn't know how to tackle this problem easily. The main obstructing factor being how to approach R3 listeners exclusively. To get an unbiased sampling group out of BBC radio listeners is not too difficult, but to get a special R3 related sample is I'm afraid a completely other matter

Well, of course, fifty weeks a year RAJAR identifies a random sample of Radio 3 listeners.

What I'm not clear about is what you are trying to find out - what is 'popular' with 'Radio 3 listeners' and what isn't? Should someone who spends 24 hours a week with the BBC, but only one hour with Radio 3, have the same say as someone who spends 10 hours a week with the BBC, all of it with Radio 3? What, exactly, is the BBC trying to achieve, and why? By their criteria it may be that they are succeeding, but just because they are the current cohort of BBC managers doesn't mean their goals are 'correct'. Look at vinteuil's thread about cuts in the arts and humanities, and the general drift towards acceptance that they aren't important.

[doversoul1]

I honestly think we can forget about ‘the Forum conducting a survey’ idea. ‘We’ are gathering of anonymous posters. Any attempt to organise ‘us’ outside the message boards is an ultimate ‘herding cats’. And besides, this Forum is not an organisation that comes with any form of FUND. If anyone is inspired by the discussions here and wants to set up a campaign group, all the best for him/her but it will have to be somewhere where the idea is practicable, i.e. where the resource can be realistically available.

What is important for us/the Forum is, as french frank repeatedly asks, ‘What is it that we want to find out?’ One thing we definitely do not want to find out is what the majority of radio listeners want from Radio3. Once we start talking about figures and statistics about this question, I’d say we are walking right into their trap. Beside, as ff says, these figures are available, done by specialists in the field.

Whilst we cannot do anything that involves physical or financial activities, I think we could put our minds and brains together and try formulating an argument that says the opinions of this Forum as a collective voice of individual listeners is significant. Then, ff may be able to find a way of presenting it officially. It (the argument) may be something that gradually becomes obvious as time goes. I hope it will.

[Eudaimonia]

Interesting points, but I was talking less about the forum itself, and more about what the FoR3 could constructively contribute as a public advocacy group. No easy answers! More later; thanks for replying.

[James Wonnacott]

I've heard so much recently about twitter that I thought I ought, at least, to know what it is. So I went to the home page and, really, am none the wiser.
Surely there are millions of theese messages coming in all the time? Even if one devoted 24 hours a day it would be impossible to pick out those of interest?
I must be missing something

[James Wonnacott]

Ah! I just found a video on twitter entitled "Twitter in plain English" Great! thinks I
It's in American

[doversoul1]

Eudaimonia
Thanks for clarifying the matter.

James
As I haven’t the foggiest idea what Twitter is, don’t take too much notice but I do think you are missing the point. You don’t go to Twitter to pick up anything important, surely?

[MrGongGong]

when I was a teenager at art college we once sent a pile of Christmas cards to people we didn't know but found interesting ....... (i think mine went to Stockhausen, Cage and Holger Czukay)....... naturally I didn't have the right addresses or even get or expect a reply

twitter seems to be more or less the same , send a text to someone you don't know
I can see it working (and have used it a little) with small groups of people (we used it on a festival i was involved in for people with no computer access to comment and share thoughts on performances) but otherwise it seems a bit of a daft (but mildly entertaining ?) way of spending time for people who have time on their hands !

[Panjandrum]

Ah! I just found a video on twitter entitled "Twitter in plain English" Great! thinks I
It's in American

James, you can set up your Twitter account to "follow" BBC Radio 3. You can then reply to any of their "tweets" and the minion operating Twitter their end will then get your reply. Whether these tweets are collated their end, and then passed to the powers that be, or disappear into cyberspace, your guess is as good as mine. A caveat: you are limited to 140 characters so you will need to make any rejoinder "pithy", as we have been enjoined!

[Frances_iom]

...
It's in American

did you expect anything different - American is the new vulgar tongue.

[Hitch]

It's possible to choose who to follow on Twitter - so you won't be inundated with messages. One of my relatives follows me and just one other person: Stephen Fry!

[Donnie Essen]

did you expect anything different - American is the new vulgar tongue.

But Limey speech is the withered tongue of an old and dying country, ma'am. Get with the new. I swear, American ain't nothing but the perfecting of the English language, shorn of airs and graces and idiocy for the democratic age, so get yourself sweet on it and color your language up a little.

Tongue. I see a 'ue' right there that just ain't needed. But then it'd be 'tong', and that don't sound right. I re-christen it 'tung'. Dig.

[Frances_iom]

But Limey speech is the withered tongue of an old and dying country, ma'am. Get with the new. I swear, American ain't nothing but the perfecting of the English language, shorn of airs and graces and idiocy for the democratic age, so get yourself sweet on it and color your language up a little.

Tongue. I see a 'ue' right there that just ain't needed. But then it'd be 'tong', and that don't sound right. I re-christen it 'tung'. Dig.

I was taught by a more experienced colleague that sarcasm was wasted on children and Americans.

[Eudaimonia]

[MrGongGong]

Though the parody is (IMV) better than the original

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cveZR4e91kU&feature=related

(ducks behind sofa)

[Panjandrum]

SM-P has just tweeted that she can die happy having accomplished her mission of getting "Turangalila" onto Breakfast. Sadly her tweet omitted the words "one movement from".