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This weblog was developed and is supported by the Bernard L. Schwartz Communication Institute, Baruch College, CUNY
Aug
13
All a-’Twitter’-ing
Posted by Vera Haller on Aug 13, 2008 under: blogs, multimedia, online news, social networking
I’ve finally done it — just now — exactly 30 minutes ago — I signed up for Twitter, the social networking phenom that everyone seems to be using. Fortune magazine senior writer Adam Lashinky described it in a recent article like this:
“Twitter, in case you’re over 25 and don’t live in a trendy coastal metropolis, is a ‘micro-blogging’ site. It’s a free service that lets you send the briefest of messages to everyone in your network. It marries the mass appeal of blogging with the rat-a-tat-tat of text messaging. “
Like a lot of people, I was hesitant to add another mode of communication to the roster. Communication overload is the norm these days, what with cell phones, multiple e-mail accounts, instant messaging and social network pages to keep updated. What use is a service that allows you to send and receive micro-messages of 140 characters or less?
Despite what may seem like an obvious answer to this question (Don’t need it!), Twitter’s appeal is snowballing. It is an application that can’t be ignored by anyone who seeks to keep up with technology.
Its uses by the news world are numerous. For example, Slate is twittering from the Olympics, offering sometimes biting commentary in very small bites. The service is used to alert readers to new postings as a way to build Web traffic. Here’s the Twitter page for The New York Times’ City Room blog. Journalists also have used Twitter to finesse story ideas, seek out sources and get information out fast on breaking news stories. Poynter.com recently posted a story about how newsrooms are using Twitter.
I am a little intimidated by the prospect of finding my place in this online community. I feel it’s important to bring something to the table — and to be clear about what I want to get from this service. Is it updates on news … or the latest thoughts on new technology and the media … or a mine for story ideas? I’ll keep you a-twittered.
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4 Responses to “All a-’Twitter’-ing”
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Hmm…I don’t like Twitter as a personal tool. Why make such short messages if you already have other accounts like livejournal or Facebook that have many more features.
But I can see how it could be useful for the Times and other news outlets. It reminds me of a ticker except the user can give links for more information.
I am not a big fan of twitter. I gave it a try, but I did not liked it. We already have many other ways to communicate in this time and age.
Nobody thought blogs like Friendster were necessary, or relevant when they came out, but they thrived and spawned imitators like Myspace and Facebook. I highly doubt there is anyone reading this “blog” that hasn’t checked their mysfacebookster recently. This is the future; sad and impersonal as it may be.
I would give Twitter a try, but I can’t imagine there being anyone who is that interested in what I am doing at any given moment of the day. If they are, they need to get a life.