Monday, June 28, 2010

New New Media-Part 2

I really have to say that I enjoyed this book. It continued to be very informative and humorous at times. Not only was it an enjoyable read, but I also learned some interesting facts--specifically about Twitter.

Levinson dedicates Chapter 8 to the world of Twitter or rather the "new kid on the media block." (p133) Twitter has become a outlet for users to broadcast to the world as it has become the fastest "growing social medium." This surprised me as I thought Facebook took the lead on this. Levison even writes about a tweet from outer space in 2009. THAT is fascinating to me.

Twitter allows usres to tweet about anything--what you are doing, your thoughts, your feelings, your emotions, etc... Whatever comes to mind you can tweet AND it is a instant publication. However, not only is it instant but it also is instant to all Twitter users. What makes it so instant is that you are only allowed to tweet a max of 140 characters. As you all know, 140 characters is a small amount. Meaning--every word counts. When I first became a Twitter user I was annoyed about the 140 character limitation. However, after using Twitter, I'm glad that this limitation has been put in place because I would not want to nor do I have the time to read a page long tweet. So yes, it makes sense. My favorite part of this section is his shout out to Fordham Road Pizza--Professor Levinson and I had conversations about the pizza in this area in his Targeted Writing class in Fall of 2009. It just made me think back and laugh about it all.

Another good point that is brought up is that you can become someone else as a Twitter user. Your user name can be something different, you can pose as someone else--a celebrity or whoever! This reminded me of our discussion in class last week about "digital self." Twitter allows you to create another you--your digital self. Perhaps we can say that some use it as an escape from reality to be or act as someone else...

Something to think about--are we making ourselves vulnerable on Twitter? This is another point that Levinson brings up. As Twitter keeps growing and as the millions of users keep increasing, I wonder about who is really reading my tweets. Furthermore, there is now an option on Twitter that includes your current location with every Tweet. In one tweet you can tell the world what you are doing and where you are instantly. Twitter puts you in touch with the outside world and has the ability to let them know everything.

Levinson perfectly explains Twitter, Interpersonal + Mass communication=Twitter. Users can send a tweet instantly and the receiver can read the message and immediately tweet back. However, this can be one on one communication and it can also be seen by the mass users (mass communication). As I have studied interpersonal communication and mass communication here at Fordham, it makes perfect sense to me.

Finally, what I found most interesting is that Levinson explains that the average age of Twitter users is 37 years old. WHAT?!? This blew me away. Twitter seems to have become more for the adult user. Which leads me to think--is Twitter appropriate for children? If the adult population is the main Twitter user then perhaps there should be some restrictions or privacy settings for children of a certain age.

2 comments:

  1. More adults use Twitter because Twitter is simply too boring for teenagers due to the lack of features that Facebook has. I'm not surprised Twitter hasn't caught on with the younger generation. Also, people who mask their identities and pose as other people have too much time on their hands or need to come back and face reality. I understand things like video games, music, and movies are supposed to act as outlets to escape reality, but I think when most people play a game or listen to a song, they do it as themselves. It's psychologically unhealthy to pretend for too long you're someone your not.

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  2. Twitter is particularly useful for people who are career-oriented, for professionals and white collar workers looking to make contacts and move up in the world. As for the vulnerability, check out http://pleaserobme.com!

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