Old Girls Twitter Essay Example

Old Girls Twitter Paper To Tweet, or Not to Tweet My sixty-two year old father asked me about â€Å"tweeting† several weeks ago. Naturally, I thought to myself, what the hell is my father doing asking me about twitter, he doesn’t even own a computer. I assumed that he had seen a newspaper article about it or heard it on the news. I stood correct. Twitter has become new media phenomenon and let’s be honest- who doesn’t have a Twitter account these days? In defense of Twitter by Caroline McCarthy and Do I Really Have To Join Twitter? By Farhad Manjoo were two articles that struck me as captivating. Personally, I’ve never found twitter all that appealing, and yet I still have an account. However, I am happy to report I’ve only â€Å"tweeted† twice in the past year. As soon as I created my account, I immediately regretted it. I wasn’t too fond of the idea that people were going to be â€Å"following† my tweets and they would be updated with unnecessary complaints or food choices of the day. Farhad Manjoo seems to share similar thoughts on the subject. Commited Twitterers argue that the 140-character-or-less tweet represents the next great mode of human communication†¦Wait a minute-you want me to keep a perpetual log of my boring life for all of the world to see? † I agree. Twitter allows complete strangers to stalk your ideas and involve themselves in learing about your personal life. We will write a custom essay sample on Old Girls Twitter specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Old Girls Twitter specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Old Girls Twitter specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Creepy? Just a little. Manjoo argues whether or not there is a point to Twitter, needless to say, not one valid point was made. Manjoo’s article made a second compelling point. It is an alien form of communication. Micro-blogging mixes up features of e-mail, IM, blogs, and social networks to create something not just novel but also confusing, an doing it well takes some time and patience. † I’ve seen my friends on their Twitter accounts, and they will sit in front of their computer for ten minutes or so, just to write a three sentence statement about their life, trying to make themselves sound a lot more intriguing to their â€Å"followers†. In their defense, I can recognize why they wouldn’t want to sound tedious or dull, but there are certainly better things they could be doing with that ten minutes of their time. When I read over the article In Defense of Twitter I couldn’t help but laugh because although my mind generally doesn’t accept the idea of Twitter, everything in the article seemed to make valid points, while they may seem contradictive to the previous article. â€Å"The beauty of Twitter is that, unlike a full-out blog, there’s no obligation to be philosophical, thought-provoking or grammatically sound. Because it doesn’t require that kind of extra effort, it’s great for people like me who want to jump on the social-media bandwagon but don’t have the time to set up something elaborate on WordPress. I can understand this to an extent. Some people enjoy blogging in general, and since there are â€Å"apps† for Twitter, you can do it straight from your phone. For people who lead a chaotic, busy schedule filled with kids, jobs and extracurricular activities, I can see why Twitter would be an escape or even fun for that matter. McCarthy do es argue however, that people reveal sensitive information that doesn’t need to be broadcasted to the whole social networking system. Childrens’ names and exact locations for example, should not be included in the 140 character long tweet. I totally agree with her points, in my opinion personal information and personal emotions for that matter should be kept outside of the blogging world. A couple months ago, I accidentally, (I guess it was more of me being nosey than being accidental) stumbled upon a Twitter page that wasn’t private, and I didn’t happen to like the user of the page all that much for personal matters. Within two minutes of reading this nine-teen year old girls Twitter, I found out that she smoked marijuana around her seven month old baby, she needed a babysitter to go to a party that night, and she had a six pack of Twisted Tea in her trunk. I’ve never actually met this girl, unfortunately I just know of her from mutual friends. Good first impression? I don’t think so. People also forget the fact that many employers are involved in social networking sites. If you’re going to be putting inappropriate tweets, you might want to think about adjusting the privacy settings- just a thought. Facebook, MySpace, Live Journal, Skype, AIM, and Twitter included are not for everyone. â€Å"I’m of the opinion that no piece of social-media software is for everyone, and Twitter is no exception. I have friends who are so frustrated by Twitter’s lack of functionality and frequent site outrages that they’ve given up on it altogether. † Certain people aren’t comfortable with sharing there thoughts with their close friends, let alone the whole realm of Twitter. I suppose it all depends on the individual, but let’s be honest; no one needs to know that your new conditioner smells like apples. All in all, I think twitter is pointless. However, I understand why people enjoy the concept. I think an unbelievable, unnecessary portion of society is wasting their time with pointless social blogging, but who am I to say it’s right or wrong. I enjoyed the two articles’ distinction, and reading other peoples opinions and reasoning’s is a good way to acquire a better understanding as to why society is so obsessed with the idea of micro-blogging. There’s tweeting now, what will come next?