The vast majority of Tweeters microblog recreationally,
as an opportunity for others to hear one’s voice and understand one’s unique
perspective, which adds depth to an understanding of different concepts or
world events. Twitter can inspire people to become amateur journalists whom
share useful, valuable content that depicts world events. Twitter is a way for
one to understand one’s unique perspectives and perceptions of life. For
example, on January 25th, 2011, hundreds of thousands of protesters
gathered in Tahrir Square during a time of turmoil preceding the unseating of
incumbent Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak. One year afterward, Tunisia had
experienced mass demonstrations during the central Cairo protests which
provoked a series of changes throughout the Middle East and North Africa- which
would be dubbed as the “Arab Spring”. Social media became a crucial tool to
spread awareness, Arab Spring had effectively been connoted to concepts like
the “Twitter uprising” or “Facebook revolution” for international news networks
and journalists to gather firsthand truths, qualitative understandings. Twitter
became a focal point of opportunity for protestors or related organizations to
express communication that would otherwise remain mute. Twitter has frequently been described as the ‘first with
news’ medium, from a small piece of information which can evolve to assume
tremendous impact. Twitter's popularity can be attributed to its immediacy,
intimacy, and impact that it provides for the dissemination of information, to
propagate stories. During a dangerous Houston flood, Twitter allowed for
exposure of witness accounts, friends or family providing first-hand evidence,
phone pictures, soundbites, and reactions that added context to the story.
Twitter has been used beyond socializing, it interconnects human civilization itself. Two individuals are granted the potential to know about each other at a personalized, in-depth level. People whom one may have never met, can develop a bond and virtual intimacy; and different parties very quickly know about each other at a deep, intimate level. In typical life, there is a period of time that occurs during the process of getting to know someone, but with instantaneous access one can read multiple features about someone at once. Twitter connects ideas, features hashtag trending- allowing for the possibility for one to develop a sense of the pulse of public dialogue. Beyond socializing, Twitter allows one to understand the psyche of collective civilization itself, and to analyze what the public is thinking about or cares about. For marketing, one can attain quantitative metrics and feedback of audience participation to adapt strategies in accordance to data with social media. A marketer can develop a criteria for certain goals, if one sets a goal for a certain amount of shares or feedback, it becomes easily measurable and the results become less abstract. The outcome is that it is easier to evaluate the success of marketing campaigns, because the feedback and metrics are absolute, objective, quantitative. Also, the vast reach of social media- in cases, supersedes the predominance of traditional media. Thousands of people can be reached with relative ease and hypothetically free without paid advertising. For marketing, one may achieve a method with profound, nuanced depth, to reach a targeted demographic and interact with an audience in real time. A marketer may more easily analyze the psychographics of an audience or demographic by examining feedback of certain Tweets to compare it with other content, which may be deemed as more or less favorable. The effect is that the marketer has a rich amount of psychological profile data and interests, to more easily target the demographic or appeal to their known desires. With Twitter, a marker also has the ability to connect and interact with their audience at a deeper, richer, more intimate level. A marketer has a simple tool that can provide for mass reach without additional cost, providing for an opportunity to spread monumental amounts of awareness disparate from other known information dissemination methods. A marketer can uniquely promote a brand with particular combinations of media messages to holistically communicate one’s ideas.
Twitter can be used as a journalistic tool for anyone to simply broadcast a message instantly to attain a sense or pulse of public dialogue. Journalists can access the public more intimately, and can roughly discern approximate relevance of a story with trending hashtags to understand the flow of information for the day. Journalists may initially receive stories online and later verify them to confirm their veracity. Journalists also can become more informed quicker by other journalists so that an entity can recognize stories faster. Those who do not have a symbolic ‘voice’ in the public conversation or public dialogue, are able to participate and disseminate news that is deemed useful to them. Twitter has allowed for amateur journalism, which has enabled public information to be richer, more nuanced, and presented at a personalized level. Although, a surplus of information presents vital negatives too, as anyone can post information that is labeled as news without any verification or often even a way of verifying. This leads to a significant amount of misinformation- and disinformation. False information can quickly become viral and profoundly, negatively impact enormous audiences. Twitter can also be used as a political tool; a politician or political organization can reach their target demographic instantly and deliver their side of the story first to control a narrative. Political ads of social media may be formed based on data or feedback from users, posts, to more proactively establish messages that can reach the target instantaneously. Twitter can be used as a political tool for a politician or related political organizations to garner a general sense of public opinion and adapt messaging accordingly. Political or social issues are communicated that may otherwise have no ‘voice’ or outlet. Political narratives can be examined for more proactive approaches of how to address an audience. Twitter can be used as a political tool to understand an audience at a more qualitative level. Similar to marketing, Twitter allows for an opportunity to more easily analyze, interpret the psychographics or characteristics of an audience, which makes it easier to know what to say to them- and what type of content to publish.
Twitter can also be used as an organizational tool to aide an organization gain a more in-depth, nuanced understanding of public opinion and attitudes towards them as an entity. With Twitter, an organization has the capability to evaluate feedback directly from the public, and is able to connect with other organizations. An organization can forge alliances with other organizations, which allows communication with other organizations to be easier. With Twitter, an organization attains a sense of what the public or target demographic desires by understanding what is being most well-received, so that one may have more clarity as to what action to take. Organizationally, Twitter enables the capability to spread brand awareness at a mass, unprecedented scale, and virtually without cost. Twitter can be an excellent, efficient tool for an organization to forge and manufacture their brand-image. The ability to measure feedback and demographical data proves invaluable to understand one’s audience at a more in-depth, personalized degree.
Three instances during the past twelve months when Twitter was used as a communicator of major events, include the World Cup, Pacific’s ring of fire earthquake, the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
Twitter has been used beyond socializing, it interconnects human civilization itself. Two individuals are granted the potential to know about each other at a personalized, in-depth level. People whom one may have never met, can develop a bond and virtual intimacy; and different parties very quickly know about each other at a deep, intimate level. In typical life, there is a period of time that occurs during the process of getting to know someone, but with instantaneous access one can read multiple features about someone at once. Twitter connects ideas, features hashtag trending- allowing for the possibility for one to develop a sense of the pulse of public dialogue. Beyond socializing, Twitter allows one to understand the psyche of collective civilization itself, and to analyze what the public is thinking about or cares about. For marketing, one can attain quantitative metrics and feedback of audience participation to adapt strategies in accordance to data with social media. A marketer can develop a criteria for certain goals, if one sets a goal for a certain amount of shares or feedback, it becomes easily measurable and the results become less abstract. The outcome is that it is easier to evaluate the success of marketing campaigns, because the feedback and metrics are absolute, objective, quantitative. Also, the vast reach of social media- in cases, supersedes the predominance of traditional media. Thousands of people can be reached with relative ease and hypothetically free without paid advertising. For marketing, one may achieve a method with profound, nuanced depth, to reach a targeted demographic and interact with an audience in real time. A marketer may more easily analyze the psychographics of an audience or demographic by examining feedback of certain Tweets to compare it with other content, which may be deemed as more or less favorable. The effect is that the marketer has a rich amount of psychological profile data and interests, to more easily target the demographic or appeal to their known desires. With Twitter, a marker also has the ability to connect and interact with their audience at a deeper, richer, more intimate level. A marketer has a simple tool that can provide for mass reach without additional cost, providing for an opportunity to spread monumental amounts of awareness disparate from other known information dissemination methods. A marketer can uniquely promote a brand with particular combinations of media messages to holistically communicate one’s ideas.
Twitter can be used as a journalistic tool for anyone to simply broadcast a message instantly to attain a sense or pulse of public dialogue. Journalists can access the public more intimately, and can roughly discern approximate relevance of a story with trending hashtags to understand the flow of information for the day. Journalists may initially receive stories online and later verify them to confirm their veracity. Journalists also can become more informed quicker by other journalists so that an entity can recognize stories faster. Those who do not have a symbolic ‘voice’ in the public conversation or public dialogue, are able to participate and disseminate news that is deemed useful to them. Twitter has allowed for amateur journalism, which has enabled public information to be richer, more nuanced, and presented at a personalized level. Although, a surplus of information presents vital negatives too, as anyone can post information that is labeled as news without any verification or often even a way of verifying. This leads to a significant amount of misinformation- and disinformation. False information can quickly become viral and profoundly, negatively impact enormous audiences. Twitter can also be used as a political tool; a politician or political organization can reach their target demographic instantly and deliver their side of the story first to control a narrative. Political ads of social media may be formed based on data or feedback from users, posts, to more proactively establish messages that can reach the target instantaneously. Twitter can be used as a political tool for a politician or related political organizations to garner a general sense of public opinion and adapt messaging accordingly. Political or social issues are communicated that may otherwise have no ‘voice’ or outlet. Political narratives can be examined for more proactive approaches of how to address an audience. Twitter can be used as a political tool to understand an audience at a more qualitative level. Similar to marketing, Twitter allows for an opportunity to more easily analyze, interpret the psychographics or characteristics of an audience, which makes it easier to know what to say to them- and what type of content to publish.
Twitter can also be used as an organizational tool to aide an organization gain a more in-depth, nuanced understanding of public opinion and attitudes towards them as an entity. With Twitter, an organization has the capability to evaluate feedback directly from the public, and is able to connect with other organizations. An organization can forge alliances with other organizations, which allows communication with other organizations to be easier. With Twitter, an organization attains a sense of what the public or target demographic desires by understanding what is being most well-received, so that one may have more clarity as to what action to take. Organizationally, Twitter enables the capability to spread brand awareness at a mass, unprecedented scale, and virtually without cost. Twitter can be an excellent, efficient tool for an organization to forge and manufacture their brand-image. The ability to measure feedback and demographical data proves invaluable to understand one’s audience at a more in-depth, personalized degree.
Three instances during the past twelve months when Twitter was used as a communicator of major events, include the World Cup, Pacific’s ring of fire earthquake, the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
During the World Cup in Russia, the audience
participated in the dialogue, by expressing celebration, sharing victories,
watching live tournament analysis, and simultaneously experiencing the event
throughout the world as it happened. After 64 matches- including the World Cup
Final between France and Croatia, there were 115 billion impressions of tweets.
Fans had discussed the event live, and their conversations made public. FOX
Sports introduced fans with premium video World Cup content in the United
States. FOX Sports produced a live-streamed show exclusively on Twitter from
Moscow’s Red Square, each match day during the World Cup. FIFA World Cup- hosted
by Rachel Bonnetta- delivered 7.1 million video views throughout the world,
with awareness that was supplemented, maximized, and popularized by Twitter.
FOX Sports also brought video highlights to Twitter- including every goal that
was scored moments after they happened, as well as video featuring talent
Q&As. The use of Twitter was a tremendous success, effectively broadening
the reach of the event and providing for live audience participation.
During the Pacific ring of fire earthquake, 70 earthquakes occurred in less than 48 hours- devastating the lives of millions of people. Countless people throughout the globe in or along the earthquake-affected areas- Tweeted scenes, detailed firsthand information of the recovery process. Many who had no voice or access to communicate the events became their own journalists. By tweeting facts about the earthquake as it happened, the reach generated by the tweets expanded and spread, maximizing awareness. Had there not been Twitter, numerous amounts of people would have no way of reporting the events firsthand which paints context for other journalists or news-gathering organizations. The tweets had a communal effect, where one isolated area is interconnected with the many to share life experiences through the same lens for mutual understanding. The circumstance proved a success, as multitudes of individuals who may had otherwise been unrelated to the events were informed of an international disaster in real time.
During the 2018 royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the hashtags #Prince Harry and #royal wedding were used to broadcast a subject’s reaction to the wedding in real time. Throughout the world, people would post pictures or Tweet what they thought of the wedding, adding personal messages. The effect is that one can observe the public witnessing the events along with the perspective of Harry and Markle. The communal effect is created when people interconnect in a way that it feels like participating in a real community, the world becomes smaller and impact is maximized. The collective behavior indicated the Twitter campaign to be a success, as the wedding became one of the most discussed topics on Twitter- and more known throughout the world.
During the Pacific ring of fire earthquake, 70 earthquakes occurred in less than 48 hours- devastating the lives of millions of people. Countless people throughout the globe in or along the earthquake-affected areas- Tweeted scenes, detailed firsthand information of the recovery process. Many who had no voice or access to communicate the events became their own journalists. By tweeting facts about the earthquake as it happened, the reach generated by the tweets expanded and spread, maximizing awareness. Had there not been Twitter, numerous amounts of people would have no way of reporting the events firsthand which paints context for other journalists or news-gathering organizations. The tweets had a communal effect, where one isolated area is interconnected with the many to share life experiences through the same lens for mutual understanding. The circumstance proved a success, as multitudes of individuals who may had otherwise been unrelated to the events were informed of an international disaster in real time.
During the 2018 royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the hashtags #Prince Harry and #royal wedding were used to broadcast a subject’s reaction to the wedding in real time. Throughout the world, people would post pictures or Tweet what they thought of the wedding, adding personal messages. The effect is that one can observe the public witnessing the events along with the perspective of Harry and Markle. The communal effect is created when people interconnect in a way that it feels like participating in a real community, the world becomes smaller and impact is maximized. The collective behavior indicated the Twitter campaign to be a success, as the wedding became one of the most discussed topics on Twitter- and more known throughout the world.
For the Twitter project, the Buffalo Sabres,
National Geographic, and Kim Kardashian were chosen to follow. It was decided
to follow the Sabres because of an avid interest in hockey and the team; as an
interest, the organization became easy to tweet about because of the in-depth
knowledge that already existed. A series of tweets were posted that were all
relevant and related to each other. The information published was useful,
accurate, interesting, regarding the topic. Tweeting about the Buffalo Sabres
was an opportunity to express existing opinions related to the project. The
Sabres were chosen majorly because of a familiarity with the topic and related
topics. The Sabres were referenced for 10 Tweets about an organization, chosen
because of existing experience with hockey so that the Tweets became more
seamless. National Geographic was also chosen. National Geographic has always
been an interest and provided for a chance to explore the topic deeper, more
in-depth. Tweeting to them was valuable to understand how to use hashtags
effectively. The skill of conjuring a statement with limited characters was
introduced, practiced, and polished. Kim Kardashian was chosen as a third
topic- because, as a pop culture icon- she represented something that there was
no interest for. Kim Kardashian was chosen because it provided an opportunity
to follow and critique a topic dissimilar to existing interests, so that unique
perspectives were able to be gained to a topic which otherwise would not ever
be investigated. Examining Kardashian’s Tweets offered insights to how Twitter
is used, the marketing aspects of Twitter, popular culture, and the opinions of
those who follow her. The union of Kim Kardashian to Kanye West as a symbolic
whole entity was observed to increase the marketability of Kardashian’s brand
and increase her appeal. Kardashian’s Twitter offered a chance to critique an
account of one who has millions of followers. The Buffalo Sabres, National
Geographic have many followers, but examining an account with followers of
Kardashian’s scale was an opportunity to understand the global implications of
Twitter and global attitudes.
This experience of using Twitter is similar to blogging by that it is a dissemination of content for engagements, but the format is unique with different implications. A Tweet has limited space, whereas a blog has virtually unlimited space. Both Twitter and blogs can deliver news, but are accessed in different ways. A Twitter is typically updated much more than a blog, is in real time, and allows to gauge an understanding of an audience at a personal level. Tweeting can lead to a communal ‘feel’, where one is able to broadcast a voice and interact with audiences, whereas a blog may not necessarily be as sharable, scannable, or personalized. Twitter allows for one to analyze trends with hash tags, though blogging may be less interactive. Twitter is thought of as a place where one wants to know ‘what’s going on’ immediately in the moment. Twitter is based on the present moment, with a pulse on public dialogue. Blogs may be updated less often, and can often refer to what has already happened. Hashtags that are present on Twitter are absent on blogs. The particular hashtag system is unique to Twitter, and allows for one to view what is currently popular. The effect may be a sense of participating in a community, rather than simply consuming a blog. Twitter has certain features which separates it from other social media sites like Facebook. Twitter involves ‘followers’ and not ‘friends’. Twitter is more often connoted to amateur journalism than other social media sites, due to its immediacy, briefness, and impact. Facebook is a way to connect with people, yet Twitter presents an opportunity to participate and connect to global events. Facebook- with nearly unlimited space and operating by a different format- may not be as scannable as Twitter. Twitter- perhaps more than other mediums, is focalized by the present moment and what is immediately occurring now.
This experience of using Twitter is similar to blogging by that it is a dissemination of content for engagements, but the format is unique with different implications. A Tweet has limited space, whereas a blog has virtually unlimited space. Both Twitter and blogs can deliver news, but are accessed in different ways. A Twitter is typically updated much more than a blog, is in real time, and allows to gauge an understanding of an audience at a personal level. Tweeting can lead to a communal ‘feel’, where one is able to broadcast a voice and interact with audiences, whereas a blog may not necessarily be as sharable, scannable, or personalized. Twitter allows for one to analyze trends with hash tags, though blogging may be less interactive. Twitter is thought of as a place where one wants to know ‘what’s going on’ immediately in the moment. Twitter is based on the present moment, with a pulse on public dialogue. Blogs may be updated less often, and can often refer to what has already happened. Hashtags that are present on Twitter are absent on blogs. The particular hashtag system is unique to Twitter, and allows for one to view what is currently popular. The effect may be a sense of participating in a community, rather than simply consuming a blog. Twitter has certain features which separates it from other social media sites like Facebook. Twitter involves ‘followers’ and not ‘friends’. Twitter is more often connoted to amateur journalism than other social media sites, due to its immediacy, briefness, and impact. Facebook is a way to connect with people, yet Twitter presents an opportunity to participate and connect to global events. Facebook- with nearly unlimited space and operating by a different format- may not be as scannable as Twitter. Twitter- perhaps more than other mediums, is focalized by the present moment and what is immediately occurring now.
