A little birdie told me…
This social networking site was created to be simple but informative. Users can get updates from Twitterers like Barack Obama or the Dalai Lama, musicians like Coldplay or their roommates and friends. The celebrities are always very popular with Twitter users; Britney Spears rakes in over 280,000 followers.
“I think the twitter forum is very sleek and fresh, and I think it’s appealing because a lot of celebrities have accounts that you can follow. You can follow indie magazines like Paste, or big-name newspapers like the New York Times,” said junior English major Christine Davis, who has become an avid Twitter user since she heard the news from her friends. “So far, Twitter has been an easy way for me to get my daily celebrity gossip, world news and music updates.”
More than just a trend
Twitter was formally released to the public in May of 2007 on the basis of creating a medium for the growing population of social Web site users focused around the user’s “status.”
By simply asking “What are you doing?” Twitter is fulfilling its goal to provide its users with an easy way to receive all of the information that is most important to them. Inventor, founder and chairman of Twitter, Jack Dorsey, created the site in hopes that it would help keep friends and loved ones connected, update its users on significant issues and even let them squeeze in a little celebrity gossip.
Users are not just updating their moods on Twitter, they are also keeping up with breaking news around the world.
According to CNN, “The social networking site Twitter again stole a march on traditional media when it was the first outlet to publish dramatic pictures of the Turkish Airlines crash.”
Twitter is quickly spreading in popularity; Barbara Walters even mentioned Twitter on “The View” Monday.
One of the things creators of Twitter did to make the site more accessible is to give users many ways to stay connected. Statuses can be updated through the Web, text message and instant message. As said on its Web site, “Twitter is what you make of it.” Users can personalize their pages and decide who they receive updates from and how often.
Twitterers have even come up with a unique language using words like “tweets” and “@username” and “RT” to distinguish between different types of posts. If you are still “iltwitterate” to Twitter talk, countless dictionaries and “how to” pages are available on Google for the beginners.
Milledgeville tweets
Twitter is not only for politicians and celebrities, this blogging craze has recently trickled into town.
Even Milledgeville locals share Davis’ excitement. A more recent user, the downtown coffee shop Blackbird Coffee, “tweets” daily. Amanda Cepero, booking manager and bartista at the shop, has been using Twitter since last fall and made the decision to put Blackbird on the site.
“I have seen a lot of other coffee shops on Twitter; it’s an excellent social networking tool. It allows us to get in touch with other coffee shops and see what drinks and espressos they are serving all around the world,” Cepero, a senior mass communication major, said. “It is even useful in Milledgeville; not many local college students are on Twitter yet, but the few that are, are our regulars. Through Twitter, we can update them on the coffees of the day, what we have going on that night and our menus for the day.”
The Web site is quickly building a fan base as more and more people begin “twittering” each day.
You can spread your Twitter wings too
Twitter is all about simplicity, so it only makes sense that getting involved is a short process.
“I wish more people were on it; (Twitter) doesn’t seem like it’s that popular yet on the GCSU campus,” Davis said.
Not everyone shares in the Twitter excitement, however.
Sophomore exercise science major Amanda Smith isn’t sure Twitter is for her.
“I decided to try Twitter because I had heard a lot of good things about it,” Smith said. “It was alright, but I didn’t enjoy it as much because the majority of my friends are on Facebook.”
To get involved, make a username and password and post a status under 160 words. Much of Twitter’s publicity comes from the ease of updating a status, it’s as simple as that.
Posted by Colonnade Archives
on Mar 6 2009. Filed under News.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0.
You can leave a response or trackback to this entry
