I will admit, I was very hazardous about joining Twitter. I just got an account last week (@hollonmckay) even though a lot of my friends have been tweeting for years. I’m not really sure why I didn’t immediately jump on the Twitter train, but better late than never right?
Last night in class, I gave a presentation on Twitter and discovered many facts about the company through my research. The more articles I read, the more I was convinced how helpful and fun Twitter can be. Just see what founder Jack Dorsey had to say about Twitter in this short, 44 second clip from YouTube.
I learned that even though Twitter is only four years old, it already is in the top 12 most visited sites in the world according to the Alexa Web Information Company. Approximately 50 million tweets are posted in a single day, all simply answering the question, “What are you doing?”
This question has caught on with other social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook. Since the birth of Twitter in 2006, MySpace and Facebook have also incorporated the “status” section to their sites. The need for knowing this virtual omnipresence has become increasingly popular.
Twitter is a wonderful way for friends, colleagues and classmates to know what you are doing, but it is also a great tool to know what’s going on in our world. Politics, special interests, entertainment, music, food, travel and anything else you can imagine can all be followed through Twitter. People are looking to Twitter to find out the latest news and reports from around the world. It is a quick way to get the headlines and know a little about any topic. Since you can only make your tweet 140 characters, it enables people to be concise, creative and witty with their writing.
Twitter has also been a successful tool in helping businesses (especially smaller ones) promote and advertise. Promotions, discounts, special events and giveaways all can be tweeted about in a matter of seconds.
Twitter is even showing up in the classrooms as a teaching tool and a way for students to learn from their peers and professors through tweets. Dr. Monica Rankin, a history professor at the University of Texas at Dallas, demonstrates with her classroom Twitter experiment.
So, I’ve mentioned how Twitter is a good way to stay connected to friends, promote your business and educate the minds of students. Now, I leave you with another video on tips that demonstrate how you can achieve the most from your Twitter account. If you don’t already have a Twitter account, I encourage you to get one. Trust me, I was a skeptic too, but Twitter really is another great social networking tool.
Top Twitter Tools and Tips
Posted by Kate Welch on April 28, 2010 at 8:02 pm
Hey Hollon! You’re post was so informative! You and Karen’s presentation was too! I really enjoyed it! Being a future educator, I relly liked the idea of using Twitter in the classroom. I had never thought of using Twitter in this way, but it seems like a great way to get more students involved in class discussion. I know I was always intimidated speaking in front of a large group of people, so being able to express my ideas without speaking in front of a large group would have been great. Thanks for the post and the presentation on Twitter!
Kate
Posted by Hollon McKay on May 2, 2010 at 4:46 pm
Kate,
Thank you very much for the comment and kind words! As a future teacher, I’m glad you found the video of Twitter in the classroom enjoyable. I think it could be a fun idea with the right students at the right time. I always appreciate your comments, thanks again!
Posted by Tiffany Talks! on April 29, 2010 at 12:17 am
Amazing post Hollondaise!
I was skeptic just like you. I have some friends on Twitter that were always trying to recruit me, so when I told them I had to get on for class, they were so amused. But, I digress…your post breaks down all the many facets of Twitter and even shows visual representations which helps to understand your points better. Twitter really is everywhere!
Thanks for an awesome post,
Tiffany
Posted by Hollon McKay on May 2, 2010 at 4:48 pm
Tiff!
I was very skeptical about Twitter, that’s why it took me so long to hop on board. If not for this class, I probably never would have. I will admit, I am not quite as “twittertastic” as you but with practice I hope to get there one day! It truly is amazing how fast Twitter took off and how many different ways we can incorporate it into our lives! Keep on twittering, I just love reading your posts! I’m a big follower of you!
Thanks for commenting sweet friend!
Posted by Ildiko on April 29, 2010 at 11:58 am
Hollon,
I was exactly like you and Tiff before last week. I was well aware that Twitter existed. While I didn’t know anyone personally to use it, so I wasn’t getting recruited like you guys, I kept hearing people on TV mention it. I just wasn’t engaged enough to try it out. I didn’t see the point, since I figured I could just post status updates to Facebook. However, now that I’ve actually made one, I realize the benefits as well. I love being able to stay updated with my fave celebs and friends!
Posted by Hollon McKay on May 2, 2010 at 4:51 pm
Idiko,
I love the fact that we can our favorite celebrities! I am a follower of Betheny from Real Housewives of NYC and I just love reading her posts! I am still getting use to tweeting, but with time hope to be more regular with it!
Thanks for the comment!
Posted by Karen Hunley on April 29, 2010 at 2:01 pm
“Tweet” post, Hollon.
You know I couldn’t let this week go by without commenting on your post, right?! We sure did learn a lot about Twitter for our paper and presentation. What’s interesting is that I think we both had a difficult time narrowing down our research and what to discuss! Who knew there was so much information out there about Twitter? I even had someone say to me … “how did you manage to write 10 pages on Twitter?” I told her we could have written 20 if we’d had the space and time!
I’m glad you reiterated in your post how so many different segments of the population are out there tweeting! I think some people have the misconception that Twitter is pretty much taken over by celebrities and teens, which could not be further from the truth, as we learned! I don’t know, though…I’m personally still having a hard time really getting in the Twitter spirit…I’ve only tweeted a few times! How about you? Have you become a loyal “tweeter”?
Posted by Hollon McKay on May 2, 2010 at 4:53 pm
Karen,
We did it! Great job on your part of the presentation, I could not have had a better partner. I thought our research on the many different way Twitter is used is fascinating and I wanted to touch on it again in my blog. I had no idea before research that Twitter was used in so many different segments of the population. I’m still learning about Twitter and getting use to it as well. I do not tweet near enough, but baby steps I guess!
Thank you for your comment!