Most Used Platforms -- Twitter
There are so many social networking sites; some link to businesses, some to music, some to random people around the world, some to friends, to blogs, to movies, to medial professionals, to locations, to families, to teens, to universities, to countries, to books, to interests, to... the list could go on and on and on. Due to the vast variety of social media sites I am just going to write about one, Twitter. Out of the many social media sites I have been a part of Twitter is the one that I just don't understand.
Launched in 2006, Twitter is an online social media service that lets users send and read short 140 character messages they call "tweets." Through these "tweets" users can get up to the second updates on what is happening around the world. Unfortunately, Twitter's learning curve is steeper than most other social media sites. When I first logged on I couldn't figure out what was up with the "@" signs everywhere or what in the world "RT-" meant. Way too confusing, until you know what they mean and how to use them. For a lot of people, the big appeal of Twitter is its speed and simplicity, the lack of clutter, ads, and as one person put it the "unFacebookness" of it.
So why are so many people sending out "tweets" and watching their Twitter feed like a hawk? As one person put it, "Its how I get most of my news, and it's a good way to stay up-to-date with breaking stories -- after all, it's way easier to read a tweet that is 140-characters than it is to read a full article on a new site. If you find something that catches your eye, you can find out more and read the full story." You can get more information from looking at tweets about something than reading a one sided article about the same subject. Also, think about time. How long does it take you to read an entire article from, lets say, the Wall Street Journal? now go read tweets about the same subject for the same amount of time, how much did you learn from the tweets compared to the article. If you had a question about a tweet you can reply and get more information about that topic, did the news article do that for you? probably not.
Twitter, though it takes a little more getting used to, can be a very useful tool. If utilized correctly Twitter can be full of information, direction, and connecting.
So why do you like Twitter? Share your comments!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/phoebe-dodds/twitter-pros-cons_b_3222302.html
https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-point-of-Twitter
http://www.techradar.com/us/news/internet/what-s-the-point-of-twitter-if-it-s-just-like-facebook--1237609
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_social_networking_websites
posted by Sparker24 at 5:56 PM
3 Comments:
I suffer from "is everyone hanging out without me" syndrome. I like Twitter because I can feel part of things that I wouldn't be able to be apart of otherwise..particularly conversations. For instance, I like that I can put live tweets that describe my feeling while also getting a sense of what everyone else is saying about it. It's fast and doesn't take up too much of my time.
I think you are right about the learning curve, it took me a long time to develop a community. I think it takes more effort to really utilize it.
5:08 PM
Twitter is my favorite social media platform to be on during a big football, basketball game, wrestling matches, or any big event because people are constantly "live tweeting" throughout the whole thing. Every one that I follow on twitter during these events are so whitty and funny that it makes everything more enjoyable! I like that posts are short, but that you can also put a picture up if you want to.
1:09 PM
I really liked the way you kind of defined Twitter for yourself. I am also glad I am not the only one who is sometimes confused by it. For years now it has seemed to be all the rage, but for me I rather look at an image or video clip rather than just text. Maybe this is just because, like you said, I am still trying to figure it out but I'm interested to see if it continues as a social media leader.
8:40 PM
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