In retrospect, my comment about the “correct” use of Twitter in class on Tuesday really should have been concerning the most productive and efficient use of Twitter. I reluctantly got a Twitter account a few months ago (lhasler). I must admit I still do not use it to its full potential. I am going to pull a quote from Frank Kelly, the Irish filmmaker creating a feature-length documentary inspired by Twitter. (http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2009/05/the-social-media-phenomenon-that.html). “When I first get into something like that, my first thought is how I can use it as a tool. How can I use this to benefit my life rather than act as a distraction in my life?” As journalists, I believe this is a very important point to keep in mind. Twitter’s question, “What are you doing?” can be answered in millions of ways. The most accurate would most likely be, “Updating my Twitter.” However, I think the answer should delve beyond one’s current status into what one is thinking about and what can be shared to make his/her followers more informed. I enjoy when my time on Twitter is cut short because of all of the links to news, music, or other items of interest. On the other hand, I do not enjoy being bombarded upon my log in by endless ramblings of the mundane aspects of the lives of those whom I follow. Truth be told, I don’t care that one of my friends is eating cereal, Lucky Charms to be exact, and another is dreading going to work. I believe Twitter is used most efficiently when users post a few times per day, not per hour, using comedy, posting links, posing questions… As journalists, there is huge benefit in receiving tips about breaking news and getting feedback on stories. In my mind, rather than being overwhelmed by the amount of information available on the Internet, I am comforted by the fact that the 68 people I follow are helping me to divide that up into smaller pieces and alerting me to articles and stories I may have otherwise missed. There is no doubt that Twitter is useful. And it is in no way a passing fad. After all, popularity continues to grow, it is still receiving a lot of media attention, and, as I mentioned earlier, there’s now a movie being made about it. However, I still stand by my belief that online social networking is making our generation more narcissistic than any other. Sorry if I’m hurting your feelings, but most of the time I just don’t care what you’re doing (I promise, I’m not nearly as mean as that makes me sound). My advice to new Twitter users is to use “micro-blogging” as a way to share information, not to brag. I found an article which said that while Skype has replaced landlines and Facebook has replaced other forms of correspondence with old friends, Twitter is the new bathroom stall writing. I appreciate the connectivity Twitter delivers, but when it simply distracts users and confirms how boring their lives truly are (after all, most tweets just prove that Americans drink too much coffee and get too little sleep) it does much more harm than good. To quote Robin Wauters from TechCrunch, “It’s where news gets broken and what more and more celebrities openly turn to start getting social with the community. It’s an almost perfect crowdsourced Q&A tool. It’s a place where companies can do business while people can choose to engage only with their peers instead. Basically, it’s as social as social networking services can get. And it’s still growing like a weed, too.”
And just for kicks, please watch this video: http://www.wiseaff.com/2009/03/funny-twitter-video-beware-the-fail-whale.html
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