The Case for Twitter

People of my generation: do you remember the early fads of what is now known as Web 2.0? I'm talking about the Livejournals, Xangas, and other various early stage social networking sites. For those who operate solely through Facebook now, they most likely had a Myspace once upon a time.

Well, my people, I give you the future, and it is a simple one: Twitter.

Before I get into the specifics on Twitter, let's look at those migrations.

A lot of the early social networking sites for our generation were basically blogs with extensive networking capabilities. But as middle schoolers, writing epic journal entries for the world to see were both tedious and invasive. The entries declined, and the movement was dying. Then Myspace surfaced and rocketed to immense popularity. For the new high schoolers, Myspace was that pre-teen blog, without the emphasis on writing. The personalization, emphasis on pictures, and emphasis on connectivity was the light that drew the moth closer. For those who had Myspaces, you could show your pictures to friends and create an online social heirarchy based on friends list and how cool your page was. Myspace ultimately met its decline and demise through things that most found unnecessary and threatening: dangerous people hiding behind online profiles, slow loading times due to pages that overworked computers, and the invasive advertising after Myspace popularity led to corporate sellout. Once college rolls around, the beacon of social networking was discovered and followed, as Facebook took its seat at the throne of life-on-the-web. It had what people liked about Myspace, but left everything people hated about Myspace: small, college-oriented networks of people you actually met in real life, simplistic layouts designed to meet everyone's basic needs, and the one stop shop for keeping tabs on your friends. Sure, Facebook has become accommodating. You can K.I.S.S. (keep it simple, stupid), or you can indulge by adding pages upon pages of extra applications. Some collegians felt the burn when the exclusivity of Facebook changed for open registration, but in time those wounds have healed.

Acknowledging the trend, however, shows that our generation is about due for another Web 2.0 transition. Facebook has grown tiresome for many. There are negative connotations for excessive Facebook use. The new chat system, while convenient, makes the bulk of users a little uncomfortable. As our generation gets older, we're seeing the necessity of staying connected, but also seeing the frivolity of even the simplistic offerings of Mark Zuckerberg's creation. What can offer us the chance to stay connected, but keep the time-wasting to a minimum? The answer is Twitter.

Twitter, if you don't know, is very basic. You control a profile, but that profile has limited options. You choose a screenname, a short one-line bio, a picture, and a background layout. That is your profile. The bulk of the info on your profile comes from your "tweets." Tweets are the equivalent of Facebook status updates: short one-liners you post for the world to see. Capped at 140 characters, your tweets are only viewable to those who choose to follow you. The idea is that you simply post what you're doing on Twitter, so that your friends, family, and coworkers are aware of your whereabouts and actions as the day rolls on. While it sends too much of a stalker vibe to some, I tend to agree with it's introductory video: you wouldn't send an e-mail or call someone just to tell them what you're doing. Even if they wanted to know, it's really a wasted action. But with Twitter, you eliminate that action, and allow others to be a part of your daily life. Here's the video to get a good idea of what I mean.

Twitter In Plain English




What I like about Twitter is that you can keep your friend list simply to those who you would like to know what you're doing. In other words, you friend list wouldn't be full of people you don't even know. There is no need to add those people as friends; Myspace and Facebook allow the atmosphere of a public commons, where you can meet and interact with new people. Twitter is more on the lines of personal communication. The seamless integration between mobile and web usage make updating a simple matter of a text to their pre-designated number while you're out and about.

I have a Twitter account. You can find my page here. To follow someone, you either must send them an e-mail through "Invite Your Friends," or you have to visit their Twitter page. I'm telling you, the future can be found in Twitter. Embrace it now, because you'll have one sooner or later.

RP