Tweet Tweet Twitter

Twitter is a social networking phenomenon. It takes social networking sites, like Facebook, and strips them down to their bare bones. No Pictures. No Walls. No silly quizes. Just statuses. Twitter allows people to update others on what they are doing. where they are, or what's on their mind. The genius thing about Twitter is that it limits people responses to a mere 140 characters. It forces you to boil down what you want to say to make it as concise as possible. Twitter allows you to follow others on the site. By following some you automatically recieve their updates. Twitter updates can be sent to your phone via text, acessed from different computer apps, or iPhone/iTouch apps, as well as being checked from the actual home page of twitter.

Twitter has recently gained awareness in the media due to the way information spreads on it. There are things called trending topics, which are popular keywords that people are using in their tweets. One trending topic in recent history was the Swine Flu. People following various source of news such as the CDC recieved updates about where the swine flu was and what it was. This may have been good or bad depending on how you view. It was good because people had quick access to information that could have helped them if they thought they might have swine flu or have a chance of catching it. However, much of the information on twitter got distort after several re-tweets and also contributed to the fear of swine flu, which was not a threat to most of America.

Twitter also has a very vouyeristic aspect to it. Just because you are following someone does not mean they are following you. Many celberties use the site to update their fans on their latest projects or just to give them a glimps into their life. This, while it can be entertaining, also be a bit bizzare as someone with a million followers, like Ashton Kutcher, can't possibly know all the people he is talking to vitrually. However, it is a great way to get information about things like tour dates for your favorite band, to find out when someone's new movie is coming out, etc.

Personally I like Twitter because it is so accessible. You can be updated on what your friends are doing anywhere. I also get information about sales and other deals that I would not know about otherwise. I choose to follow a few people I find funny or interesting. So who would you follow?

Interesting Twitters:
Me --- Me of course. I mostly give boring updates about what I am doing. The most basic use of twitter.
Steven --- Yeah, Sheffield uses it too.
Felica Day --- She knows a lot about geeky stuff, twitter included.
Rainn Wilson --- Dwight from the Office. Sometimes his tweets are so similar to his character it's scary.
Stephen Colbert--- "Remember kids! In order to maintain an untenable position, you have to be actively ignorant." May or may not be offensive as well as the Real Colbert.
CNN--- News. News. News. Used to be the number one twitter until unseated by Ashton Kutcher.
Barack Obama --- Yes, the President himself. He used to actually tweet but I don't think he has since the election.