I have Twitter on another tab while I am working on this blog entry. Everyone on my friend's list is busy typing away, adding new messages. It is chaotic but highly entertaining at the same time. I wonder if the name, Twitter has it's roots from all the twittering that all of us are making right now. Just like little chicks. In our farm, going around making noises and getting everyone's attention. That is possibly the closest metaphor I can come up with right now. Maybe it's the name Twitter. It has been giving me visions of little chicks. Weird. I am enjoying the twittering though.
What exactly is Twitter?
Twitter is a social networking service that allows members to inform each other about what they are doing and what they think. It allows users to send messages via phone or instant messaging (Twitter, 2007).
Fernbeck and Thompson (1995) stated that in Internet Relay Chat (IRC) users type words on their screens which instantaneously reach other users. I feel that Twitter is almost similar to IRC. The first thing that greets you when you login is a text box that prompts you, 'What are you doing?' Somehow you feel oblige to answer that question. At the same time, you are reading whatever others are thinking or feeling. Sometimes they are silly, random thoughts. At times, they are conversations between people. Both friends and strangers alike. In a way, you are having multiple conversations with different people. Commenting on what others have posted is another way of communication via Twitter.
I have been posting random thoughts on my Twitter. Typically, not someone who discloses what I am thinking or feeling readily. That changed almost instantly when I created my Twitter page. Perhaps it is because I enjoy being random and Twitter allows that freedom of expression. I have friends reading my musings but not having to question why I wrote what I wrote a few seconds ago. The reason is simple. I am answering the question. What am I doing? It works simply as an online instant messaging site. It feels like getting a short message service (SMS) but via online. I personally feel that it is a refreshing take on establishing an online community.
Twitter is in fact an online community. I feel like I am in a little kampung. Everyone is sharing their thoughts and I am receiving updates from friends that I don't get to see often. It is a nice feeling. Distance is diminished and little work need to be done. All you need is to login and type whatever is happening or what you are thinking at that moment in time. As mentioned by Wellman and Gulia (1996), the ease of group response and forwarding can foster the folding-in of formerly separate Net participants into more all-encompassing communities.
Twitter works.
References
Barry Wellman and Milena Gulia. (April, 1996). Net Surfers Don’t Ride Alone: Virtual Communities as Communities. Retrieved March 15, 2007, from http://www.acm.org/%7Eccp/references/wellman/wellman.html
Fernback, J., & Thompson, B. (May, 1995). Virtual Communities: Abort, Retry, Failure?. Retrieved March 14, 2007 from http://www.rheingold.com/texts/techpolitix/VCcivil.html
Twitter. (2007, March 14). In Wikipedia, The Free encyclopedia. Retrieved March 15, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitter
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