Twitter... Twitter... Twitter.
A word I've heard often in the last year or so... Rick Sanchez and Don Lemon both "twitter" on their CNN newscasts. Celebrities have been twittering for a while also letting the whole world now about all the minutiae in their lives. It's even said that Jennifer Aniston became annoyed with boyfriend's John Mayer's Twitter "addiction
Well, after hearing so much about Twitter and the media and from tech-savvy friends I decided to jump aboard several weeks ago.
It's an interesting proposition... think text message meets blog... you got 140 characters to share an idea and express to all your followers... aka Twitter friends who sign up to read all your updates.
It's so interesting, that some British school officials are considering teaching students not only about the Bard upon Avon, but also about Twitter devotees such as Ashton Kutcher.
At the moment friends who have Twitter are following me as are an interesting array of people in the U.S. and around the world who I do not know, but am "getting to know" maybe.
Some say Twitter has reached its peak, jumped the shark while other say the Twitter Revolution is very beginning. I tend to agree with the latter.
On my Blackberry, thanks to Twitterberry, I get to read all my friends updates. But I only get to follow my real-life friends, but journalists, bloggers and news organizations. I get updates from them giving me fascinating links or updating me on the latest story. It's like I'm in a newsroom with the AP wire going crazy, but in a whole new way.
That's why I say this is a revolution. You can receive media in a whole new way and that's exactly what living the "eLife" is all about! I look at my phone and know what just happened in places that are important to me... say CNN for world news, Salt Lake Tribune for Utah News, New York Times, for my "hometown's" news... big hometown i know... Le Monde, for French news (J'aime la France) or Colombia's El Tiempo, to know what's happening where my grandparents live.
I get links and then I can retweet them... RT... basically I can share what I got from one of my friends with my followers. I can also interact with them and they can read what I have to say on the subject. If they're real-life friends they'll read it and if they have thousands of followers they might not get to read it, but then again they might.
On CNN for example, during Sanchez's and Lemon's show many of the Twitter comments are actually read on the air!
It's changing news media in an incredible way where there is much more transparency and interaction.
It's fascinating and it's another example of social determinism. For those who choose to follow this new form of media and social networking they can be on top of things and be informed. It's using the internet and new technologies to our advantage.
So... follow me @edgarzuniga
For those who don't know Twitter speak that would be... create an account @ twitter.com and then follow me @ twitter.com/edgarzuniga
1 comment:
I feel like I may be a little bit out of the loop. Before this class I was not even sure what Twitter was.
But now that I am aware of it, I have been hearing about it everywhere. I heard on the radio about Ashton Kutcher posting a picture of Demi Moore, his wife, on Twitter in her underwear. Next to the picture, it said, "don't tell the wifey." It does seem like celebrities love using the site to expose more about their life.
It sounds like you stay well connected with media and the news. I try and stay connected but I feel like I am not quite caught up with all the technologies.
That is interesting that some British schools are considering teaching about Twitter deovotees. It is interesting how we already finding schools taking advantage of blogs, emails, and other technologies. For instance, the class that we are in, Living the elife. We are incorporating blogging as an assignment. A couple of years ago this would have been an interesting idea but now it is common. I am glad that we had to because it showed me how easy setting up and blogging is. Before this class I was not sure how blogs worked but I already feel well adjusted. I think they are a good idea because it allows everyone who has access to technology and the knowledge to put their word out there.
When you say that you can receive media in all different ways, do you feel any of the negative aspects that have come about from them?
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