What can you say in 140 characters or less?
This is the concept behind Twitter, a social networking and micro-blogging site formed in 2007. Users are given 140 characters, the space available in a text message, to share their thoughts with the world, or at least their followers. Twitter is a free service, in which members send messages, known as Tweets, to followers or the community as a whole. These Tweets can be customized with the @ and # tags. One can send a message to another Twitter user by using the @ tag and the # tag groups Tweets of similar subject matter.
The subject of Tweets varies widely, as they are user generated. Anyone can Tweet anything. Tweets can be funny or serious, pointless or informative. One can subscribe to Ashton Kutcher's feed and learn about his latest plane ride. One can also subscribe to Barack Obama's feed and keep up to date on the President's agenda.
So may be your average Tweeter won't get paid for their tweets, but on the bright side, they won't have youtube videos made about their tweets either...
But when does Twitter stop being fun and pithy statements, and start getting a little awkward? Take for instance the Twitter account of the late Billy Mays, which has been kept online and is now operated by his son, Billy Mays Jr. Is it really necessary to see the final Tweets of Billy Mays? Is it an honor, or a little morbid?
So, are you a tweeter? Do you follow certain peoples Twitter accounts? What makes a good tweet, or one that is just too much information?#tmi
Oh, and do you think apologizing via Twitter is a good option?
O know very little, almost nothing about twitter. Overall, I've always thought it was a dumb concept in generally. I don't care what you ate today, even if you are a celebrity. If someone does minute by minute tweets, I have no interest, if it's less mundane, then knock yourself out. I think, for the most part, people use twitter to tell the world every little piece of their day.
ReplyDeleteI do think there are ways to use twitter in a convenient and successful way. Using twitter as a mass text to a large group of friends, for instance, can be convenient. It also is a great source for news and political updates for the casual reader. Short and simple tweets are easy to read and quick updates for news, politics, current events or important issues in a friends life. Learning quickly and instantly about ideas ot updates that matter can be useful. I think Billy May's son picking u[ his tweets is bizarre. If people followed Billy Mays, it ws him they followed, I think his son picking it up isn't so much morbid, as unnecessary. Overall, twitter can be fun and useful if it's not abused. But even if it is abused, no one will follow it anyway, so go ahead, describe your breakfast.
If I were to follow twitter, it would be only for close friends or news updates. Everyone in my life doesn't need to be on my twitter page, but I imagine I could get into it.
I think in the case of Billy Mays, at first it would be almost ok to keep his Twitter around to hear about how the family is doing but after probably the second week, it would get a little creepy and people would probably start to not care.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I do tweet and I was skeptical to becoming a "Tweeter" because I was so against it. It wasn't till this year that I got really into it and found out that I could follow news orginizations, celebrities, and my friends. I get NYT news sent to my phone, and it's easier to see little snippits of news, which makes me want to read more.
I guess what makes a good tweet for me is something funny, or if it's from the news, I like a catchy headline that will make me want to click through to the link. Sometimes, girls especially, go way overboard and share too much information or turn it into a way to bully someone.
Tweeting an apology is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard of. If you're even thinking of apologizing via Twitter, you have a little growing up to do.
I am not a "tweeter" and have never used it before. I have made a twitter but I have never been on it. I know that it is used to let the world know what your doing every second of the day. The 140 characters reminded me of a text message and doesn't seem like a lot of character. I honestly don't think you should be limited to what you have to say. It is all very confusing to me. I understand it is just like facebook, by updating your status. I just really don't understand the entire reason to "tweet".
ReplyDeleteThe one thing that I do like is that you can follow people. It is like being friends with someone on facebook. It is really cool that you can follow celebrities and see what they are up too. You can see what Kim kardashian and Justin Timberlake are doing when they update their twitter. It makes me wonder though, are these actually them updating their twitters? Or is it a hoax? The whole topic on on Billy Mays, and then having his son take over, I think it is a place to leave him honor. Though maybe I won't follow his page, there are tons of people in the world who have may different thoughts and would wanna follow a bunch of different people.
I have signed up for twitter but never followed. I was looking at the different things on twitter and kind of messing around on it, I will probably use it more. I'm not too sure how I feel about twitter yet but I think I might like it.
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ReplyDeleteI feel that there is only so much one can say over a Twitter update. The 140 characters allows for the users to update rapidly from their cell phones. When I used to use Twitter I would post famous quotes and updates about my life to my followers simply to keep those who cared up-to-date on my life. I think that the Billy Mays account that is now operated by his son, which shows his final tweets, is a bit disrespectful. I feel as though once someone has passed away his / her accounts shouldn’t be touched. I think that it slows a lack of respect when one touches the account of a deceased person. I don’t tweet like some of my friends do however; I feel that when I do tweet I tweet with importance. I follow some of my friends twitter accounts to keep up with their lives however some of them tweet every minute of every day –which is a bit ridiculous if you ask me however, some people feel as though it is their duty to update everyone about their lives every second of the day.
ReplyDeleteI signed up for Twitter about a year ago and didn't really understand it. I posted a few "tweets", but didn't really see the difference between that and a Facebook status. Plus, I didn't really know anyone who used Twitter, and everyone could see my Facebook, so I pretty much stopped using Twitter. A few months ago, I revisited the site and became more familiar with what you can do with Twitter. I now use it quite frequently, and I basically just post random short lines complaining about my day, or something funny that just happened. It's basically like a mini blog for me that I can look back at and say, "Oh, I remember when that happened". It's also a cool way to interact with friends who have a Twitter. I can see what they post, and they can see what I post. I have many less followers there than on Facebook, so it's more selective too. I may not want everyone to see that my most current tweet was me complaining that I'm pissed off at my job, because I am friends with people from work on Facebook.
ReplyDeleteI also like how you can follow news sources or celebrities. It's entertaining at least to see what @ johncmayer or @aplusk. I can also follow news from across the world, or even in my own hometown. While I haven't exactly mastered the concept of Twitter and may use it as more of a place to vent than a new way to interact, I do understand its purpose and think it's a really neat site.
...and I don't think it's appropriate for people to tweet apologies. @ johncmayer should shut his mouth :P
I recently (as in today) just joined twitter. I never really looked into opening a twitter account simply because I never really knew what it was. I learned a lot of useful information in class today about twitter that made me want to join.
ReplyDeleteFirst off, who wouldn't want to know about what John Mayer's next move is or what President Barack Obama is about to propose next? It give us normal people a look at into the life of a celebrity or a famous figure. It makes us feel more "connected" to them, even if it is through a simple tweet.
Also, it is a great way to stay connected with friends from all over the world. Sure you are only allowed to express your day in 140 characters or less but most people don't have time to read more than that anyways. Especially if you are someone who is always up on the latest news or current event, tweeting is the fastest way to keep in-touch with the world.
The only complaint that I have about twitter is the accuracy of it. Not everything that is "tweeted" is always 100% true. With that being said, people shouldn't always believe everything they read on twitter.
Over all I am impressed with the response to twitter. At first I thought the whole idea of it was dumb, but now I realize it is just another modern way to say "hi I am a person who wants to share more with the world" and what is so wrong about that?
I do have a twitter I made one last year because my friend asked me to because he wanted to "tweet" with me. I had no clue what he was talking about and when I signed up for it I found it weird and confusing. To me I thought it was just constant status updates just like Facebook minus all the other things Facebook has such as pictures, fan pages, and friends. I don't ever use my twitter however, I probably never will because I really don't care to tell everyone where I am every single minute of my life. If someone I care about wants to know where I am, then they can text me.
ReplyDeleteAs for the Billy Mays thing, I think that's a little strange that they made a twitter for him. What is he going to say now? "Oh hey, I'm totally kidding I'm not dead!" Seriously? I don't think that's right. Billy Mays was an interesting character, but there are other ways to make tributes to him besides making him a Twitter.
So, even thought I do have a twitter, I never use it so therefore I don't look to follow people, or to tweet people. I don't really see the point.
I do have a twitter. I find it most useful to find out information about musicians, celebrity, and some news. I enjoy knowing where artists are and when they are working on their music. One person I follow the most is John Legend, one of my favorite artists. He usually posts what he is working on, where he is, and with who. He even interacts with his fans useing the @ symbol. I don't tweet daily, occasionally I do but I enjoy looking at others tweets. I like seeing what people are doing and I use twitter or facebook to check out what is going on in the world, along with the news.
ReplyDeleteSome things can get a little too much, just like on any networking site, such as the Billy May's page. Like any other site it has its ups and downs. Although I don't use Twitter everyday, I do enjoy checking out tweets. As for apologizing on Twitter, I think that could be one part of an apology but there should be more. Because everything is all about media now I do think part of the apology is alright to come out on Twittter.
I don't have a twitter page. I don't really undrstand it. I like the fact that you can follow the news and celebrities. It seems more personal when a celebrity is tweeting about what they're doing. Before this last class I honestly had no real clue what twitter was. A very small number of my friends have twitter. I don't really update my status on facebook so I don't think I'd really be a big twitter fan either.
ReplyDeleteI think there is a point where tweeting can go a little too far. I think constant updates every few minutes has to get annoying. I feel like I wouldn't need to know when my friend is taking a shower then drinking a coffee then watching a movie.
As far as the apologizing via twitter I guess it depends what the person is apologizing for.
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ReplyDeleteI do not have a twitter page I kind of feel like they are pointless. I think twitter is weird but in a good way. A few of my friends refer to Facebook statuses as stalker feed. I feel that Twitter is more of a stalker feed because it is usually telling someone where you are and why your there or what is happening with you and its just updates. There is nothing else on twitter just these status updates from you.
ReplyDeleteI feel like twitter updates could get very annoying. I do not need to know that you just ate raisin bran and had coffee. Or that your outta work and heading to weight watchers. These like tid bits of info you can keep to yourself. Twitter is just statuses and people updating them will probably eventually get annoying. I do not want to go on a page that is just of updates from friends or celebrities.
I feel like knowing Obama is on a plane or is here or there is not what I need to know about him. If it is a presidential matter then I understand but since alot of the updates are not then there is no need to follow Obama.
No I do not feel like twitter apologizing is right. its like a text message break up. Its all insincere. Give the person the credit enough to tell them what you feel to their face.
I am not a tweeter, nor do I ever plan to be. I have nothing against Twitter, I just think its a waste of my time, and I already waste a lot of time on Facebook. I do think its interesting to follow Barrack Obama's feed, but I am a fan of him on Facebook, so I already get the updates from there. I also think that anything can get to the point of disturbing. Billy Mays Jr still keeping Billy Mays website goes a little over the top, and makes it a bit morbid. No one will get him back by keeping his twitter, he is gone, allow his memory to rest. I do not believe apologizing through twitter is a good option, but I feel this way about any kind of technology. I personally believe one should apologize in person, if this is impossible, then call the person, and actually talk to them. It is only right, and that way you are respecting the other persons feelings, and by doing this you show them that you actually care about them, and are sincere in their apology.
ReplyDelete