A new social networking site is sweeping the interwebs, much like Facebook and MySpace before it. This one goes by Twitter.
Twitter, accessible from Twitter.com, is a microblogging site that allows users to post 140-character messages known as "tweets" to their profile page as well as follow their friends' tweets. The complete collection of tweets on the site is known as the "twitterverse."
The site is commonly compared to Facebook's status update feature. Whereas Facebook is predominately web-based, Twitter is more mobile-centric. Tweets can be forwarded to and posted from your cell phone, allowing you instantaneous updates of users you're following as well as the ability to tell the world what you're doing anywhere there is cell phone reception or Internet access.
More than seven million twits - a nickname for the site's users - take advantage of Twitter, up 1,374 percent in just a year.
Like most social networking sites, when you sign up for Twitter, you pick a username. For example, my username on the site is frhood, and please feel free to follow me. When tweeting to other twits, you place the "@" symbol before their username, which signifies a tweet is to or about that person.
Tweets by users you follow can be "retweeted" by placing "RT @" then that poster's username in front of the poster's tweet, which forwards it to all of your followers.
Tweets can also be "tagged" by placing the "#" symbol, followed by the topic of the tweet. Users can then search for these tags For example, you can search for #superbowl and any tweet regarding the Super Bowl with the #superbowl tag can be found.
Besides providing the ability to be nosey 24/7, Twitter offers many other benefits.
The site can be used to alert your followers of relevant news. Officials from cities around the world use Twitter to provide instant alerts regarding snow, police and fire emergencies, sewer backups, Amber alerts, road closings and suspect descriptions. The Ball State Daily News uses its Twitter account (@bsudailynews) to inform its followers, mostly BSU students, of sports scores, events and breaking news from around campus.
Major news stories such as the Mumbai terrorist attacks and the Hudson River plane landing have broken over Twitter when users provided minute-by-minute eye-witness accounts of the events. Some users directly involved in those incidents used the site to alert their family and friends of their well-being.
Twitter can also be used to organize and advertise events. Before and during the G20 summit last week, protest organizers used Twitter to disseminate information on meeting places, marching routes and to alert protesters of problems that arose. Police also used the site to gather intelligence about the size and motives of certain groups in order to more efficiently deploy forces.
On campus, groups such as Homecoming (@bsuhomcoming09) and Ride Across the Purple Valley (@ratpv2009) use Twitter to inform their followers of the progress being made in the planning of their events and both groups plan to publicize news and updates as events draw closer.
Twitter was also used as a campaign tool in the recent SGA election as both Cardinal Impact and University Coalition used the site to inform their followers of speaking events and how to vote.
Twitter is also beneficial when looking for something to do. I personally use the site when I have free time and want to find someone to grab food or catch a movie with.
One British man recently hitchhiked from the United Kingdom to Kansas via Amsterdam, Paris, Pittsburgh and Chicago in 12 days through the kindness of others he found on Twitter.
Because of the craze of social networking, one UK university has gone as far as to offer a degree in social media about using Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, etc.
As with all things Internet related, Twitter should be used with caution.
One LA-based clothing designer is suing Courtney Love for defamation after the actress ranted about the designer via Twitter. NBA Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was fined $25,000 for criticizing referees on Twitter after a game. And rumors say Jennifer Aniston recently dumped John Mayer over his habit of broadcasting his every thought via Twitter but not spending enough time keeping in touch with her.
But despite a regrettable, drunken tweet or a terminated relationship, Twitter is the latest social networking site students can use to stay connected, advertise events and maybe travel the world.
Happy tweeting!
Write to Frank at frhood@bsu.edu
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