As I was browsing the headlines on CNN.com thinking about what to write for Viewpoints this week, I decided the question would be best answered by others. Automatically, I logged into my Twitter account and posted the message ìneed an article idea for next weekís viewpoints Ö any ideas?” As soon as I hit the send key, I had an idea. Yes, an article on Twitter is exactly what the students of Wooster need to hear about. Hopefully, this article will inspire you to join the millions of others who are already hooked.
The most common response I hear from people when asked if they have a Twitter account is ìI donít get what Twitter is.” Great news! There is nothing to ìget.” Twitter is one of the latest tools in the ever-expanding world of social networking. Like Facebook, Twitter allows users to interact with one another online. However, the difference is that Twitter forces you to keep your thoughts to 140 characters or less. And, letís face it, there are some people whose thoughts should be limited to 140 characters or less.
For those who understand the concept of Twitter, but donít use it, they may question the point of having a Twitter because ìisnít it just like a Facebook status?” No. Actually, a Twitter update, or ìtweet,” could definitely be a reflection of your current mood, but generally it goes beyond that. A tweet allows the user to respond to trending topics, post websites, upload pictures and even directly respond to someone who has made contact with you.
For example, the difference between posting a Facebook status about the Vikings being the best team in the NFL versus a tweet, is that my tweet will automatically be linked to other users discussing the same thing. This provides you with tons of different opinions on the Vikings just because it matched other peopleís interests.
For those of you who are celebrity-inclined, Twitter allows you to directly follow them so you can always be connected to your favorite superstar. Kim Kardashian and Lance Armstrong† surpassed the million follower mark long ago. Other favorites include Barack Obama, Tyra Banks and my personal favorite, Gary Busey. These celebs tweet daily (some hourly) about their day-to-day lives and give the reader a glimpse into what stardom is like.
The other great thing about Twitter is that it is live. This means that people are constantly updating statuses at a pace that even major news outlets canít. While working as an intern at a radio station in DC this summer, I was shocked to find out that almost every single time a major news story broke, I had read about it at least two minutes before on Twitter. This is because people on the scene of an event only need to send a text from their cell phone to their Twitter to let an entire populous of people know whatís going on.
Also, have you ever thought about how public your Facebook is? You post pictures and personal information that will always be accessible by other people no matter if you try to delete it. With Twitter, you control what you post and what people see. This is why this social network has become so popular among adults. Many people who fear employers discovering unwanted information through their social networks have turned to Twitter because it is what you want it to be.
So the next time you are staring at your Facebook hitting the refresh button over and over again, try setting up a Twitter account instead. The amount of information flowing throughout it will keep you busy for hours.† Who knows, you might be the first to hear of a breaking news event or even a personal rant from Kanye West (look him up, youíll understand).
Laney Austin is a regular contributor to the Voice. She can be reached for comment at LAustin11@wooster.edu.