QotW7: Twit, Twitting, Twitted.
Introduction
Twitter
For this blog assignment, we were told to sign up for an account on Twitter.com. Here is my Twitter profile: http://twitter.com/mandycola
On the surface, to me, Twitter is like a massive tag-board. Let’s look at the different aspects of Twitter and see if it is an online community:
1) In a nutshell, Twitter users are able to hide behind a pseudonym as they post messages on what they are currently doing/reply to their friends’ messages. Messages on Twitter, however, are only allowed to be of 140 characters. This makes messages short and thus resembles that of a tag-board (usually found on blogs). In short, people choose to sign up for Twitter using either their real names/pseudonyms. Also, they are able to post short messages. In online communities such as forums, members also have pseudonyms and are able to post messages to allow interaction. In addition, Twitter users have avatars similar to that of online forum members and are able to customize their profile pages.
2) Twitter users are able to explore the list of other users and add friends to their list. These friends then appear on the profile page of one another. Here, we can see how Twitter allows its users to link to one another, possibly resembling smaller groups/cliques within the population. Thus, Twitter is similar to online communities such as blogs or MySpace where users can also link to one another and the links between users are also displayed on the blog/profile page. By definition, online communities often divide into cliques or form new communities (“Virtual Community,” 2007).
3) What kinds of messages do Twitter users post? In general, Twitter is to enable users to constantly/conveniently post updates on their whereabouts/what they are doing. Thus, in a way, messages on Twitter are like shortened versions of diary entries. You may think that this makes Twitter more of a blog instead, but don’t forget that blogs are also forms of online communities.
4) Not only do Twitter users post short messages available for viewing by their friends/public, they are also able to send “Direct Messages” to other users. This function allows users to socialize and converse about any other topic. Looking at social networking sites (another form of online community) such as Friendster, we see that Friendster members are also able to send private/personal messages to one another, which is usually how they get to socialize.
5) Twitter users are able to mark messages of other users as their “Favorites” which will also appear in a list accessible from one’s profile page. This function is alike that of the online social bookmarking service—del.icio.us. On del.icio.us, members create a list of their favorite bookmarks of any topic they like. Thus, the “Favorites” function of Twitter resembles that of del.icio.us (also an online community).
After studying the functions and aspects of Twitter, I would say that it is an online community. In detail, Twitter is like an online community where each of its functions resembles that of other existing online communities as I have pointed out previously. Recalling what our guest speaker Benjamin Koe (http://eok.net) mentioned: An online community is free, fun and open. Indeed, Twitter is FREE, FUN and OPEN. Not to forget, it is also highly ADDICTIVE.
Reference:
Fernback, J. & Thompson, B. (1995). Virtual Communities: Abort, Retry, Failure? Retrieved March 15, 2007, from http://www.rheingold.com/texts/techpolitix/VCcivil.html
Griffin, E. (2006). Social information processing theory of Joseph Walther. A first look at communication theory, 6th edition, pp. 142-155. McGraw-Hill Companies.
Reputation Management. (2007). In: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved March 15, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?
Virtual Community. (2007). In Wikipedia: the free encyclopedia. Retrieved March 15, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Virtual_community&diff=115277136&oldid=115277042
Wellman, B. & Gulia, M. (1996). Net Surfers Don’t Ride Alone. Retrieved March 15, 2007, from http://www.acm.org/~ccp/references/wellman/wellman.html
title=Reputation_management&diff=113442073&oldid=111797891
To me, an online community is not very different from a real-life community. I picture it as a group of people who interact or associate themselves with one another probably due to shared interests or other reasons. The only things that are missing are physical presence of the community members and the lack of social cues.
An online community (aka virtual community) is “a group of people that may or may not primarily or initially communicate or interact via the Internet. Online communities have also become a supplemental form of communication between people who know each other in real life” (“Virtual Community,” 2007). However, do remember that community has a dynamic meaning (Fernback & Thompson, 1995).
According to Wellman and Gulia, a community is “more than the sum of a set of ties: its composition and network structure affects how it supplies companionship, supportiveness, information and a sense of identity” (1996).
With the emergence of online communities, people are able to interact electronically behind the use of pseudonyms. In an online community such as deviantART, forums are put within the site to enable its users to interact with one another in a forum respective to their interests. In most online communities, users have pseudonyms (but some may choose to use their real name; The WELL requires users to communicate using their real names), pictures/avatars, and users tend to gather in groups within the community or link to one another (if possible).
In online communities, members have the power to control the amount of information they release and create a selective self-presentation (Griffin, 2006). With an online identity comes the need for reputation management—“the process of tracking an entity's actions and other entities' opinions about those actions” (“Reputation Management,” 2007).
Here is a diagram that I made which shows examples of online communities. This list is not exhaustive.
An online community (aka virtual community) is “a group of people that may or may not primarily or initially communicate or interact via the Internet. Online communities have also become a supplemental form of communication between people who know each other in real life” (“Virtual Community,” 2007). However, do remember that community has a dynamic meaning (Fernback & Thompson, 1995).
According to Wellman and Gulia, a community is “more than the sum of a set of ties: its composition and network structure affects how it supplies companionship, supportiveness, information and a sense of identity” (1996).
With the emergence of online communities, people are able to interact electronically behind the use of pseudonyms. In an online community such as deviantART, forums are put within the site to enable its users to interact with one another in a forum respective to their interests. In most online communities, users have pseudonyms (but some may choose to use their real name; The WELL requires users to communicate using their real names), pictures/avatars, and users tend to gather in groups within the community or link to one another (if possible).
In online communities, members have the power to control the amount of information they release and create a selective self-presentation (Griffin, 2006). With an online identity comes the need for reputation management—“the process of tracking an entity's actions and other entities' opinions about those actions” (“Reputation Management,” 2007).
Here is a diagram that I made which shows examples of online communities. This list is not exhaustive.
For this blog assignment, we were told to sign up for an account on Twitter.com. Here is my Twitter profile: http://twitter.com/mandycola
On the surface, to me, Twitter is like a massive tag-board. Let’s look at the different aspects of Twitter and see if it is an online community:
1) In a nutshell, Twitter users are able to hide behind a pseudonym as they post messages on what they are currently doing/reply to their friends’ messages. Messages on Twitter, however, are only allowed to be of 140 characters. This makes messages short and thus resembles that of a tag-board (usually found on blogs). In short, people choose to sign up for Twitter using either their real names/pseudonyms. Also, they are able to post short messages. In online communities such as forums, members also have pseudonyms and are able to post messages to allow interaction. In addition, Twitter users have avatars similar to that of online forum members and are able to customize their profile pages.
2) Twitter users are able to explore the list of other users and add friends to their list. These friends then appear on the profile page of one another. Here, we can see how Twitter allows its users to link to one another, possibly resembling smaller groups/cliques within the population. Thus, Twitter is similar to online communities such as blogs or MySpace where users can also link to one another and the links between users are also displayed on the blog/profile page. By definition, online communities often divide into cliques or form new communities (“Virtual Community,” 2007).
3) What kinds of messages do Twitter users post? In general, Twitter is to enable users to constantly/conveniently post updates on their whereabouts/what they are doing. Thus, in a way, messages on Twitter are like shortened versions of diary entries. You may think that this makes Twitter more of a blog instead, but don’t forget that blogs are also forms of online communities.
4) Not only do Twitter users post short messages available for viewing by their friends/public, they are also able to send “Direct Messages” to other users. This function allows users to socialize and converse about any other topic. Looking at social networking sites (another form of online community) such as Friendster, we see that Friendster members are also able to send private/personal messages to one another, which is usually how they get to socialize.
5) Twitter users are able to mark messages of other users as their “Favorites” which will also appear in a list accessible from one’s profile page. This function is alike that of the online social bookmarking service—del.icio.us. On del.icio.us, members create a list of their favorite bookmarks of any topic they like. Thus, the “Favorites” function of Twitter resembles that of del.icio.us (also an online community).
Conclusion
After studying the functions and aspects of Twitter, I would say that it is an online community. In detail, Twitter is like an online community where each of its functions resembles that of other existing online communities as I have pointed out previously. Recalling what our guest speaker Benjamin Koe (http://eok.net) mentioned: An online community is free, fun and open. Indeed, Twitter is FREE, FUN and OPEN. Not to forget, it is also highly ADDICTIVE.
Reference:
Fernback, J. & Thompson, B. (1995). Virtual Communities: Abort, Retry, Failure? Retrieved March 15, 2007, from http://www.rheingold.com/texts/techpolitix/VCcivil.html
Griffin, E. (2006). Social information processing theory of Joseph Walther. A first look at communication theory, 6th edition, pp. 142-155. McGraw-Hill Companies.
Reputation Management. (2007). In: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved March 15, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?
Virtual Community. (2007). In Wikipedia: the free encyclopedia. Retrieved March 15, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Virtual_community&diff=115277136&oldid=115277042
Wellman, B. & Gulia, M. (1996). Net Surfers Don’t Ride Alone. Retrieved March 15, 2007, from http://www.acm.org/~ccp/references/wellman/wellman.html
title=Reputation_management&diff=113442073&oldid=111797891
Labels: Assignments
posted by Amanda at 3/16/2007 12:28:00 AM
2 Comments:
nicky... how do u print screen??hehehe
Sniffy:
There should be a key on your keyboard that says "Print Screen" or "Prt Sc." Press that.
It basically copies an image of whatever you see on your screen. Open a software such as Paint and click on "Paste" then save your image and upload to your blog =)
I hope that helps...
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