#tweettweet

Oh hello!

I love social media. It is fun, inspiring and informative. And while I love a good hashtag as much as the next 25 year old girl, I really don’t like having to limit my thoughts to 140 characters. #notimpressedtwitter. I had to create a Twitter account for a uni subject which I haven’t used since. I just don’t feel that my thoughts are so profound and witty that they need to be shared with the whole “twitterverse”…all 555, 750, 000 (Twitter Statistics, 2013) of you! 

Source: Rauv, 2012

So who are these 555 million Twitters? Well, 40% of you don't even contribute, you just follow friends and celebrity friends who are in fact complete strangers (Twitter Statistics, 2013) which is actually a bit creepy when you think about it.

Check out Twiterholic's list of the top ranking profiles on Twitter!

For those of you who are active users - who comment, share photos, agree, debate, laugh,  gossip, brainstorm etc - you are now part of a virtual community, something which exists purely because of humanities drive to form new relationships, and advancements in  technology to provide new communication channels (without the restrictions of more traditional media).

"A virtual community as they exist today is a group of people 

who may or may not meet one another face to face, and who exchange words 

and ideas through the mediation of computer bulletin boards and networks." 

(Rheingold, 1993 p1)

It is great that like-minded people can interact without being constrained by time and geographic location, but is it becoming a little too convenient not to interact face to face anymore? When you consider last week's post about our dependence on mobile devices, is Twitter just pushing us one step closer to becoming cyborgs? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Maybe I shouldn't be too harsh on Twitter, it does have it's benefits...

• It is "portrayed as a new super fast news medium that can get round the traditional mainstream media" (Spreeuwenburg, 2009)
• It is a "communication-tool that can be understood as a reflection of our current society" (Spreeuwenburg, 2009)
• Dissolves barriers between gender, class, status and stereotypes
• Connects you to people and communities you otherwise wouldn't know about
• It allows you to find out about events before they are released through the news (and mostly unfiltered)

Plus, it has given me this little gem!

 Source: Jimmy Kimmel Live, 2012

Bye for now,

Lisa

Reference List

Twitter Statistics 2013, Statistics Brain, viewed 4 December 2013, <http://www.statisticbrain.com/twitter-statistics/> 

Rauv, S 2012, Four Twitter Tips to Triple your Twitter Mentions [image], Business2Community, 18 September, viewed 5 December 2013, <http://www.business2community.com/twitter/4-twitter-tips-to-triple-your-twitter-mentions-0282761#!oRSzH>

Rheingold, H 1993, A Slice of Life in my Virtual Community, viewed 5 December 2013, <http://public.callutheran.edu/~chenxi/Phil350_142_03.pdf>

Spreeuwenburg, K 2009, The Significance of Twitter, Masters of Media, 8 October, viewed 6 December 2013, <http://mastersofmedia.hum.uva.nl/2009/10/08/the-significance-of-twitter/>

Jimmy Kimmel Live 2012, Celebrities Read Mean Tweets #1, 22 March 2013, viewed 4 December 2013, <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRBoPveyETc>