Numbers speak volumes;
on Twitter today there are more than 554 million
active users, which equates to 58 million Tweets
per day. Twitter is projected to generate $399 million
in 2013, so the Twits are onto something, but why is it so popular?
It was originally
created to answer the simple question of “what are
you doing?” and grew from there. Twitter differs from other networking
sites because of its low bandwidth requirements and the strength of its
collective audience.
If we looked at the
top ten most popular people on Twitter we
would see an uninspiring list of American musicians or celebrities such as Justin
Bieber #1 or Kim Kardashian #9. I wonder (and worry) why so many people want to
know what these celebrities are doing?
Nicole Scherzinger wearing a Twitter dress at the
launch of the EE 4G network where fans could Tweet their comments directly onto
the dress bringing new meaning to real time.
I turn to the wise scholar
and social media stalwart Henry Jenkins who explains that we now live in a
world with a high level of participatory culture where everyone can participate
and learn from each other. Like the days of old quilting groups that harnessed the
power of the collective audience. With Twitter we can choose who we want
to learn from, who we want to follow. More from Jenkins.
In times of
crisis Twitter has proved to be the first point of contact for many who are cut off from regular points of communication.
-
Haitians 2010 and Japanese 2012 major earthquakes
-
Victorian 2009 Black Saturday fires
-
Mumbai 2011 terrorist attacks
-
Movements such as;
o
China avoiding Government
Censorship in response to Google pulling out of China
o
The Obama campaign
Twitter is no longer a
trivial media fad, it has made its mark as a grass
roots communication tool. It provides profitable product reviews,
company messages, advertising, universities are using it to relay class
information and media are using it for short news updates.
Nelson Mandela sadly
passed away this week, so I checked the Twitter feeds to see the reaction of
the world. I was met with some inspirational tributes and also some jaw
dropping statements. Here are a few in order from amazing to atrocious.
“He took history in his hands and bent the arc of the
moral universe towards justice” Barack
Obama@BarackObama
“The world mourns Nelson Mandela but will the same
world follow his example of forgiving, restorative justice?” FatherBog@FatherBob
“Former Vice President believed Nelson Mandela a
terrorist” Chis@chrisharrisBC
“I loved his movies” a
number of Tweeters getting very confused with Morgan Freeman
“Wow! Bout time!” jay@sho4short
This event shows
Twitter is faster than news services or blogs and exhibits a lack of censorship
(much to a few governments discomfort). It allows true freedom of speech. It
enables us to see the unedited opinions from within the cultural melting pot of
society. So why do you Tweet?
REFERENCES
Jenkins, H 2011, Participatory Culture, You Tube, <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgZ4ph3dSmY
> , viewed 5 December 2013
Murthy, Dhiraj
2013, Twitter : Social Communication in the Twitter Age, e-book, p 70, accessed
5 December 2013, <http://SWIN.eblib.com.au/patron/FullRecord.aspx?p=1166845>.
Statistic Brain, July 2013 “Twitter Statistics”, http://www.statisticbrain.com/twitter-statistics/
viewed 4 December 2013
Hi Nicole,
ReplyDeleteOn one hand I like the fact that our opinions are uncensored on Twitter: so fresh and liberating.
However, we also need to remind ourselves and teach the new generations to take those opinions with a grain of salt and not as the truth. Young adults can be easily fascinated by the latest craze/point of view especially if it comes from a celebrity.
Cheers,
Elisabetta
Hi Nicole,
ReplyDeleteMost people have concentrated on the negative impacts of Twitter, myself included. Its great that you have outlined some of the benefits of Twitter. In today's society everyone has a right to voice their opinion and Twitter is a medium that is not censored and expresses true/raw truths. I think Isabetta also outlined the importance of individuality and not believing everything on Twitter as gospel truths. If we weigh up all the pro's and con's of Twitter i'm not sure which side would rise and which side would fall. Perhaps they would balance out...?
Regards,
Ty
I think time will tell on the pros and cons of Twitter, similar to this weeks news reports on the demise of Facebook. Although I think the use of Twitter in a crisis is invaluable.
ReplyDeleteLike many social media platforms, something that you see as a pro will be seen as a con by someone else, and vice versa. Twitter is great in a crisis, dissemintaing important information, but it can also be used to create chaos and spread untruths.
ReplyDeleteBrigitte.