How to: get addicted to Twitter
By Kate Austin
11/21/08
How To: Get Addicted to Twitter
This fast-growing form of “micro-blogging” has users all a twitter.
With countless ways of blogging and sharing personal information on the Internet, Twitter has created an outlet to update friends, family and followers you have never met on your daily activities – in 140 characters or less.
The New York Times called Twitter “one of the fastest-growing phenomena on the Internet.” Although this form of “micro-blogging” has yet to fully catch on with the younger generation of constant communicators, which Seventeen magazine has dubbed “Generation Speed,” it is only a matter of time before they are hooked into yet another way of constantly staying in contact with their peers.
Simplicity is Key
“With its requirement for people to squeeze their thoughts into 140 characters or less, Twitter is a perfect tool for a fast-paced, mobile society,” said Janna Anderson, director of a research project called Imagining the Internet.
Becoming a Twitter addict is difficult to avoid; the simplicity of the blog hooks the everyman who is eager to connect with others. By asking one question, “What are you doing?” and allowing users to update by mobile texting, instant message, or the Web, “tweets” are easily and frequently posted.
“It’s called ‘micro-blogging’ because some people use it just to inform their friends about what they are doing minute-by-minute, for instance writing things like, ‘I just voted for Obama, and now I’m headed over to Starbucks to get my free cup of Election Day coffee,’” said Anderson.
Silencing the Constant Twitter
“Twitter is what you make of it–receive a lot of information about your friends, or just a tiny bit. It’s up to [the user],” reads the Web site. Settings can be personalized to a great extent; one can constantly be receiving their friends’ tweets on their cellular phone, or only receive certain peoples updates. There is even a setting where one can schedule Twitter to silence the updates during dinnertime.
The benefit of Twitter is the way that the question is asked. Answers to “What are you doing?” are usually rhetorical; users are not expected to reply to other people’s tweets, but have the option of doing so.
Professionals Carry a Tune
Twitter is used by large businesses to provide information regarding products and services to the public. In a way this becomes a free form of self-promotion, and a simple way to inform those who are interested. Company news from businesses such as Whole Foods Market and Jet Blue is twittered about.
Not only company news, but also public news, appears on the Twitter site. The Election 2008 page, for instance, is a continually scrolling page that is constantly updated, even now that the election is over. During the campaign period, twittered conversation consisted of live-texts from political rallies and notes from early voting stations.
Media professionals, well-known gossip news personality Perez Hilton and company officials all have a voice on Twitter; any user can follow the tweets posted by these people.
“I’m following a number of technology people and media experts; I’m getting a steady stream of data from interesting people like Tim O’Reilly, the man who coined the term Web 2.0, and Jay Rosen, a new-media columnist,” said Anderson.
Sing Your First Note
Getting started with Twitter is as easy as creating a username and password. Head to the Twitter Web site, click “Get Started Now,” and choose a name. Next, personalize your Twitter page, and start posting tweets. You’ll be a regular songbird in no time.
