Twitter is among the many websites used by millions of people daily for means of communication, news, and also just for fun. On Twitter one updates his or her status as many times as he or she wants every day, saying whatever he or she wishes. This allows others to see what he or she is doing or thinking about, and vice-versa. It is a good source to connect with a variety of people, to be informed about new information, and to simply entertain and express oneself All of these positive features further the reasoning of the growing number of fans, and increased popularity, of this website in the past few years.
The people using Twitter range from one’s close friends at school, all the way to celebrities in Hollywood. Celebrities that have a Twitter to follow, include Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, David Beckham, and even local newspapers, such as the Rebellion (twitter.com/whstherebellion). By viewing their Twitter one is able to see what kind of events take place in their ordinary day, and their thoughts about them. One will be getting the insight about these people that many people outside the Twitter world do not know.
Ways to connect with people on Twitter include commenting about someone’s tweet, (type an @ sign, the person’s username, followed by your message to them). The message is mixed in with one’s statuses,or “tweets,” but is directed toward the person one typed in. Along with talking to people on the site, it is also used to express your thoughts day to day, almost like a diary. Tweeting about whatever one is thinking about helps one clear his or her mind of all the distractions he or she may have. When sharing these thoughts, they are seen by the people that “follow” one, or are connected to one, on the site.
The home page of the site displays all the tweets of the people (and one’s tweets), direct messages, favorite tweets, and trending topics. When one is following someone is when one is able to tweet back at them or send them a direct message. A direct message is similar to an inbox on Facebook. It is a message that is only seen by the people one specifically chooses to send it to, rather than a status that all one’s followers see. Also on one’s homepage, there is a button for one’s favorite tweets either written by one or the people one follows. When one cannot think of anything to say in a tweet, he or she can take a look at the Trending Topics and see if one would like to discuss them along with the millions of other twitter people. The ideas in the Trending Topics include current events, or human interest topics such as shows and songs. The titles for these topics come from the words that people have most tweeted about, and usually are relative to the news and time.
Not only is Twitter a good source for high school students to connect with each other, but it is also helpful in business and many other serious events around the world. In Mumbai, India about a year ago, there was a terrorist attack that was reportedly tweeted about 70 times per every 5 seconds as it was happening. One person by the name Dupreee tweeted, ““Mumbai terrorists are asking hotel reception for room #s of American citizens and holding them hostage on one floor.” Before the attack was over many people had heard word of it through twitter, quickly informing people what happening. Instant thoughts and pleads for blood donations at JJ Hospital in Maubi were tweeted about, as the quantity of blood lessened to help those that that were dangered. Just a simple answer to a simple question posted at the top of the site, “What’s happening?”, millions can be informed about serious situations, and find ways to help immediately.
At first many people, including me, think, “Why should I get a Twitter when I have a Facebook?” Well truth is, one has to get an account to see the difference for oneself. The best way to deciefer the two would have to be through the applications they provide. Facebook is mainly used for picture sharing. Whereas Twitter is focused on status updates and thoughts that users type. So, when one updates his or her status it is posted to people that are also sharing similar thoughts and ideas. It is a way to connect with people in terms deeper and easier than ever before.
So go ahead, see what all the commotion’s about, type it in: www.twitter.com.
