As many of you will know, I’m an avid user of Twitter and to a lesser extent, Facebook. I think both are wonderful places to share thoughts on gardening, engage with the online gardening community, learn from each other, and of course, to gently promote this garden and nursery from time to time. You didn’t notice? As if…
Naturally then, I sat up and noticed when, in this month’s Gardener’s World magazine, Monty Don wrote about social media and gardening. He makes a number of points, but I don’t think I’m misrepresenting him to say that the tone was generally negative about the point and purpose of social media for gardeners. He pointed out that statistically, gardeners don’t use social media and this he linked to the fact that most gardeners are older than the internet-savvy generation.
So, let’s explore this and see where we end up. I shall lay my cards on the table. I have been blogging about gardening for 8 years – here’s a link to my very first blog post in January 2005. I was an active participant of the now closed GW Message Board for several years and found for the first time a large and generous online community of gardeners happy to share their expertise. I don’t know for sure how old many of them were, but it seemed to me that most were over 40, based on their years of gardening experience. Many were clearly retired – both keen gardeners and active social website users, note.
I resisted the lure of Twitter for a couple of years, then tried it again, drawn by the presence of former Message Board members such as the highly entertaining Arabella Sock and people whose writing I enjoyed like James Alexander Sinclair. Fast forward 3 years and now I tweet pretty much every day – sometimes about plants and gardening but often about other issues I care about, such as the environment or social issues. If you’ve something to say to the wider world, there is no better place to do it, but take note, it is a merciless meritocracy – the Twitterati will simply ignore you if you have nothing interesting to say, or tell you to your virtual face if you talk nonsense.
Monty joined Twitter about two years ago, as I recall. He was plainly reluctant at first but found his feet when he realised he could use the medium to get the message out for environmental causes he cares about. I can’t remember the subject but I do recall the ‘I get it now’ tweet which ensued. I was about the 30th person he followed, probably because I am a known entity – we have met and chatted a few times at RHS shows. Obviously I was pleased, and for a while I tweeted somewhat self-consciously – when someone you greatly admire follows you and who follows relatively few others, you know your tweets will pop up in their timeline and stay there for a bit. I soon got over it. It’s surprisingly easy to ‘read’ someone’s persona on Twitter, and very difficult to fake one.
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So, what does Twitter feel like? Fifty years ago, we saw our neighbours, cousins and in-laws almost every day when we walked to the shops or got the bus to work. Now, we drive to work, or work from home and many people are socially isolated.
Twitter offers something of that community spirit back again. You are sceptical? Ask Ronnie, aka @Hurtledto60, getting messages of support every day from fellow gardeners and others as she deals with her cancer treatment. Ask @DigitalNun – a real nun in a real convent who shares her life, her prayers and her observations about life with her followers and chats about her world with anyone of faith or none. Ask @BenjaminRanyard – his amusing tweets about his seeds and flowers brighten the lives of his 18,000 horticultural followers. Logging onto Twitter over breakfast is genuinely like walking down a real street every morning, chatting with the neighbours and having a peek in the shopkeepers’ windows to see what they’ve got in.
But like all communities, Twitter is no utopia. There are disputes, internicine battles, rowdy arguments in the street, people I have nothing in common with and some that I try to avoid. And as in ‘real’ life, the better known you are, the more flak you attract. Monty gets his fair share of fruitcake tweeters – like the guy who wanted to turn up at one of his talks and give him a 5 minute lecture on lawns. Mostly people tell him how much they love his books. A few criticise something he’s done on Gardener’s World, or cheekily ask for an RT of their pet project or to make their Mum’s day. But that’s about as heavy as it gets. If you want to see what proper online abuse is like, try following the woman who is campaigning to get Page 3 abolished in the Sun.
Monty says in his article ‘..although most of us use computers, I suspect we do so with a sense of wonder that our children and grandchildren do not feel.’ Hmmm. I am 52. I first used a mainframe computer terminal at British Airways aged 19. I was one of the first there to use the new PCs, aged about 24, so I’ve been using a computer of some sort for over 30 years. I am entirely comfortable in the digital world. I regularly give talks, which I create in Powerpoint and set the laptop, projector and remote mouse up in seconds. I think nothing at all of this. I note from Monty’s tweets that he often struggles with technology. He is 57 or 58, I think. Maybe that five or six years makes a difference.
When I meet someone my age who tells me they don’t use a computer much or that they share their spouse’s email address I am genuinely astonished. I wonder how they cope at work and I know that communicating with them will require active endeavour on my part, involving envelopes, stamps and trips to post offices, or taking phone calls when perhaps it’s not a good time. I like the fact that incoming work emails can be left until I decide to have an ‘admin hour’ and then dealt with efficiently, diary and cup of tea to hand. You think this is the mindset of the under thirties? Add at least twenty years.
Perhaps that five years makes a difference in social expectations too. Monty says that the over-familiarity of social media throws him and that using the same website does not make us friends. Well, of course not. When we go to a supermarket and the checkout assistant chats about the weather, we do not presume we are being befriended. We have learned to read the communication conventions of the real world and, like all social scenarios, the communication conventions of the online world need to be learned too. Here, I think is where Monty shows his – well, I was going to say ‘age’, but I sense I’m trying to let him off an awkward hook, and in doing so, am guilty myself of a form of ageism. I’ve come across plenty of much older people who have quickly figured it out, like 95 year old @QuiltingMuriel for example. It’s not a question of age so much as a question of – what? His words suggest something like high-mindedness.
To me the most disconcerting line in the article is when he says that ‘Friendships are built, not bought’. No money changes hands on Twitter so what can he mean? ‘Bought’ in the form of online flattery or being lured into a unwitting 140 character reply? I really don’t know what he’s driving at. Anyway, the implication seems to be that responding to someone might lead them to think of him as a friend. A friend! How very dare they….
I don’t see such a clear gulf between people in the real and digital worlds. Social media offers me additional ways of staying in touch with ‘real world’ friends – it’s so easy just to say hi when someone you already know posts something interesting online. And of course it’s a great way to develop new acquaintances, share knowledge, find people to give your surplus apples too, to lend a hand with show gardening, bake cakes for charity day and yes, sometimes to become face-to-face friends. Real friends, if you like. Friends I want to meet and break bread with, share a bottle of wine with and then say hello to later when they post something interesting online. And so the real and digital worlds collide, beautifully.
Mostly, I think Monty’s article was a missed opportunity. The article could have welcomed gardeners to join the active and engaged community of gardeners on Twitter. He could have explained why he continues to use Twitter, despite himself, which seems to me to be to share his personal passions alongside his observations about the beauty of gardens and the pleasures of gardening. Instead we got dark mutterings of ‘grave reservations’ about social media and complaints about being ‘hectored… loudly and rudely.. about something I do for love’.
Oh, Monty. Someone should have had a quiet word before it went to print and offered you a rethink. Really, in the social media age what were you and the magazine’s editors thinking? You may garden for love, but you are also paid to do it by licence payers. If viewers want to tell you what they think, are they supposed to write to Feedback, in pen and ink, leaving you to tweet in peace about the vanishing swallows?
Anyone can engage with, enjoy and exploit the power of social media. But it really doesn’t do to tell people how they may or may not reply or how to feel about what we post, whether that is unwanted adoration, bitter criticism or – what most social media users dread more than anything – no response whatsoever.
PS – sorry if you can’t see or post comments – seems to be something to do with Chrome. Try a different browser if you can, or click CTRL and refresh. I am trying to fix it but there are clearly limits to my IT literacy!
x
22 Responses to “On Twitter, Gardeners World, Monty, age and all that…”
Excellent & thoughtful article which makes very good points. If people earn their living via public medium, this will, unfortunately, bring criticism from those who pay them – the public. And it will also bring praise and even adulation! I think perhaps Monty is mistakenly using the word 'friends' in relation to how people think of Twitter. Some people one encounters may well become real and genuine friends but maybe the word 'friendly' is better for his needs. But I expect most famous people with a well-known face are aware that the public often feel that they really know them because, as in Monty's case, he's in their sitting room every week! And as to age, I see no limits there. I'm 67 and have belonged to an online gardening newsgroup for 15 years. I use my computer a lot, so the only thing to stop someone is if they simply don't like the medium!
Brilliant piece, Sue, comprehensive in its analysis and very well put.
I have been thinking for some time that the garden world is divided by those who are comfortable, maybe even excited by social media and those who have attitude and avoid it. Or simply use it to make proclamations. And no, it isn't age. And that's important because people witter on with their stereotypes of 'youth' which are just as bizarre as that stereotype of age.
It may have to do with sociability and the wish to exchange ideas and encounter other people and their thoughts and ideas? And if you have been pronouncing for years about a subject with only a carefully edited one off response in a magazine, or with non at all on tv or newspaper, suddenly being exposed to 'here comes everyone' has to be shocking and disorientating. Or exciting? Anyway – like suddenly arriving at a party from off a desert island.
See the difference between most garden magazine editors, and Chris Young. That contrast – dramatic – is everywhere.
This will change everything, but at present it means I experience a growing gulf between myself and many of my colleagues and people I meet in the garden world. And I also feel part of a growing, lively and entertaining community on social media. It's kind of strange.
Thanks for this piece and raising the issues. And that's what's possible, isn't it?! Wonderful! Xxx
A good post Sue , I wonder how long mainstream media can continue to brush aside the existence of, ( and ignore the opinions of ) millions of twittering people . Some gardening media has already moved itself to the internet entirely and with the continuing rise of the 'You Tube ' generation it is only a matter of time before the majority will be there leaving a small slightly poetic minority on TV.
You should have written the article Sue! I haven't read the GW piece but did follow MD for a while on twitter so can probably get the gist.
I am an avid social networker but many of my real life friends of the same age have no interest whatsoever, equally at our allotment site for every person who does, there's another that doesn't and never would and many of those I dig side by side with have no interest in gardening beyond the boundaries of their plot, so in that sense I do take his point. What a pity though when there's so much to be gained and enjoyed in the wider gardening community.
A great post Sue, I have met some great gardeners both virtually & in reality through twitter. I have also learned so much from their garden advice. Only this week the great twitter-plant-folk Id'd a tree I couldn't name.
I'm in my 50s, I've been using computers in for work for getting on for 20 years. My mother was 70 when she got her first computer and is now an avid Facebook user. It's not age that determines people's use of social media.
A thoughful post, much of which I agree with.
I'm in my mid 60's and I tweet, blog, Facebook and I'm on various forums. It's not age that matters as I know people in this virtual world who are in their teens, others in their 80's and many in between who live all over the world.
Social media educates, entertains and informs me on a daily basis, as well as annoying and infuriating me at times.
I think that Mr Don is one of those people who simply doesn't feel comfortable conversing with others in the virtual world but perhaps has to, rather than wants to, do it.
Social media is here to stay, one way or another, and should be enjoyed as it can change and enhance our lives. Flighty xx
Agreed that age isn't the issue – I've edited the blog a little as I realised I was excusing Monty on the grounds of age, thus compounding the article's inherent ageism!
Thank you Anne. A further edit wouldn't go amiss – one thing Twitter has done is shorten the attention span. I do agree that it must be hard for people unused to instant feedback to feel its unfettered onslaught.
A point Monty makes that I realise I haven't addressed is the truism that most gardeners don't tweet. My sense is that this is a canard – it's a meaningless concern which doesn't prove that social media is useless, or that gardeners don't like it. You certainly can't deduce that it is because most gardeners are older. My 26 and 24 year old daughters rarely tweet either despite being brought up with the internet. This needs thinking on…
…though I understand that GW viewing figures are currently at a bit of a peak. The figures broken down by programme used to be available on the BARB website but not now. Perhaps someone else has access to them. Like the forecast that the Kindle would herald the demise of the book, I suspect that TV has legs yet.
Agreed that it is each to his or her own – some will try it and not like it, some may love it. Either way, gardeners shouldn't be discouraged from trying it, quite the opposite. I do wish GW had run an article on social media by someone who gets a lot out of it – perhaps they will now! Interesting that GW Magazine itself doesn't have a twitter presence….
My Mum is a dab hand on the PC as well – just shows it's never too late!
This is a thought provoking article and you are spot on, I am nearly 40 and computers came a staple part of our lives at secondary. I remember having an Acorn Electron, which I shared with my sister, dial up meant that there was a chance to join a wider community. For me, twitter and and other social media, is that community, sometimes you can join in, other times you can sit back and follow a conversation and learn. Great stuff and sadly Monty did miss the point of the digital age. I have found support and a wider community for those of us who are trying to be self sufficient across the globe. It shows you that social media impacts on people's lives, ethics and how they do things. GW should not dismiss it, they should be at the forefront of embracing it, and as Monty is the face of GW, he should embrace it too rather than having such a dismissive tone about it. A missed opportunity that your article addresses. Thanks for this.
Hello Flighty, yes – Monty doesn't seem especially comfortable on Twitter, though I do wonder if he wrote this article on a bad day as he's still there and still seems to get something out of it. Can't help wondering if he wouldn't have re-considered it, given a chance to.
Yes – it's a surprise that Gardener's World doesn't really have a social media presence, either on Twitter or Facebook, as the programme itself or the magazine. Rather than proving that older people and thus gardeners don't use social media, perhaps this proves the reverse – that the creative management sorts at GW in Bristol don't use it. I know loads of professional people in their 20's and 30's that don't get it at all.
Sue – thank you for this piece! I do agree social media has nothing to do with age and, with more than 550,000,000 people around the world on Twitter alone, I find it hard to believe none of them are gardeners – I bet some of them even watch GW! My morning read of my Twitter feed is my way to keep in touch with gardening around the world as well as other news items at home and abroad. The tweets lead me down all sorts of interesting paths – gardening and others. This blog is a case in point – I wouldn't have discovered it without Twitter to point the way. And now you've referred to the MD article I'll head down to my newsagent to see if that issue of GW has reached our bushfire-torn shores here in Australia. Ironic really that I may buy the magazine for a story about how gardeners don't embrace social media because I read it on Twitter. But what MD may not know or realise is that newspaper and magazine editors and publishers around the world are now monitoring their journalists and writers to see how much of a splash they make in social media. Your followers, reposts, retweets and likes actually matter and may shape your future in the print world. I think gardens, plants and gardening lend themselves to the world of social media and I for one am embracing it all.
I found this excellent post via your Twitter feed! – although I also read your blog, Sue. I've enjoyed reading this and agree with your thoughts, especially the community feel of Twitter replacing the reality of the bus queue in the morning. I'm lucky to live in an estate that was established 70 years ago with people who all knew each other already. That community spirit continues to this day with neighbours stopping to say hello, chat if they have time, care about each other. I still tweet though as not many neighbours are interested in gardening and it keeps me in touch with virtual 'friends' and opinions. I'm 58 and have been using computers for at least 30 years, first in admin then design – even learning website design and illustration. My mum totally embraced the internet in her late 80's, booking train tickets and checking theatre productions! I think the one reason that gardeners may be slower to social media is that there is a lot of time needed outdoors to complete our work!!
Here's a thought. A lot of us who use social media a lot are actually sitting at our desks because we're writers or editors, which makes it easy and habitual. But a lot of gardeners are out in the field, where keeping up with rapid conversations simply isn't possible. (For instance, I was at the allotment yesterday and couldn't a) get a decent signal, b) see my phone very well in the sunlight, and c) felt like an arse taking off my gardening gloves in order to check my Facebook page). I would be curious to know how many of those most active on twitter and Facebook spend most of their time already on a computer. Another issue, I hate tweeting from my phone and rarely do it because it's slow and clumsy compared to my desktop machine, and my old-ish eyes really find it awkward. Something to it?
Twitter is a give-and-take medium. Maybe he just wants to give–after all, he's used to talking at people. Not a criticism, btw.
I hate this stuff about age. Generalisations about either young or old (or even the middleaged) are so stupid. I think we should go on fighting both stereotypes about age and about gardeners, but it is an uphill struggle. Xx
Hello Jennifer. Certainly lots of GW viewers are on Twitter as the incoming stream of comments while the show is being broadcast attests. Although Monty doesn't refer to it directly, the hashtag #shoutyhalfhour has become a bit of a rallying call for criticism and it's plain he finds it challenging (I don't use it myself). People used to shout at the telly – now they shout on Twitter – Anne Wareham makes a good point about that transition on her comment further up. The more I think about it, the more it seems plain that the programme editors should be online – so many newspaper and magazine editors now face outwards, listening to, explaining and generally engaging pro-actively with their audience. It's the way forwards.
You are right, Fiona – I don't use Twitter from my phone, only when I'm in front of my laptop. So if I'm outside in the garden or nursery for the day I check twitter (and tweet if I'm minded) as and when I check my emails over a coffee or lunch. Still seems to leave me enough time to make me a very active Tweeter!
Hi Sue
I'm guessing most of the positivity generated here is from social media regulars. I'm no Ludite, I've built computors and was an early uptake dial-up user, thrilled to be able to email friends all over the world and things really have moved on.
But advise on the internet is like advise from the know-alls in the pub. You really do need a good sieve. Just put a plant name into google images and see what you get. Yes the plant you were looking for but also a whole load of wrongly named or badly linked pictures too.
I also find that, whatever interest I am writing about, I'm not doing it (i.e. gardening in this instance) .
I do also feel on social media generally there is a lot of white noise and very little substance, and I am going to be agist and point at the younger generations in this respect, but I guess you could argue that this is the world young people live in and as we grow up we all generate a certain amount of rubbish as we explore what it is to be us.
So Monty, yes he was negative in tone, and slightly arrogant, but also avid tweeters and SM users are almost equally so about non use and seem quite defensive.
I do wonder what the next big thing will be as the virtual world moves so quickly (whatever happened to …myspace etc…) and I hope that good quality discussion will still have a place (Sue's Blogg, 38 Degrees etc) whithin all the polemics and naysayers, at either end of spectrums there is a happy medium.
And don't forget to contact your MEP's regarding the EU Plant Propagation law (see EU blogg. Well done Sue) rather than chatting about the unimportant.
Cheers
Adam