Unit Seven

Twitter

In 2006, Twitter was just one of the many start up social media websites. Jack Dorsey and Noah Glass were the main creators and originally named the website Twttr. This website was to something they worked on while working for the company Odeo. Like others, it wasn’t predicted to last more than a year or so. Twitter proved a lot of people wrong, especially with its total revenue coming in around $254 million dollars at the end of 2013. Social media has become a giant part of society in the past couple of years, and people are always searching for the new app that will top others. This social media network has changed the world with the use of @ and #.

    Users of Twitter communicate in 140 character or less messages. These messages can be viewed by people known as followers. Followers can be friends, family, coworkers, or random people interested in what you tweet. An @ symbol is used to direct a tweet at someone specific. One of the amazing features of Twitter is the # or hashtag. This one symbol is what makes Twitter completely different from other social media websites. The hashtag is something people type at the end of their tweet to describe how they’re feeling, the topic of tweet, or just a random saying. It allows users to search for and view tweets about a specific topic. The use of this symbol and the use of Twitter overall have changed society.

    The promotion and advertising of businesses has been made easier by Twitter. Business owners and large companies can advertise and spread word about their products with one tweet. That tweet will eventually be retweeted and viewed by millions of people scrolling through their timeline. This also means that when a customer has a complaint about a company and it’s not resolved in a satisfactory way, a simple tweet can ruin things for the company. With so many people using the internet and these websites, having someone tweet negative things about your company is something companies are and should be worried about.

    The spreading of news, whether is be a terrorist attack, a celebrity in rehab, or a new candidate for the running of president, is now instant. Within minutes of a news report, the tweet about it can appear in millions of people’s timelines. Twitter keeps people up to date with what’s happening in their state, country, and the world. This website has been especially helpful during national and world tragedies. Tweets helped spread the story and helped support being during the Sandy Hook shooting, Joplin tornado, and more. When Colorado legalized recreational marijuana, it appeared all over my timeline, and when a state legalizes same-sex marriage, tweets agreeing and disagreeing with it appear. Celebrities and politicians have gained many supporters through the use of Twitter, but sometimes they get themselves into trouble. Sharing your opinion is a great idea until someone gets offended. Just like every other social media website, people have to be aware that once they post something, you can’t permanently get rid of it. Someone saw it and they’ll make sure that others know about it.

    In the past couple of years, Twitter has helped spread awareness about conflicts around the world. The Arab Spring revolution helped spread awareness about what was going on and eventually overthrow a dictatorship with the help of twitter. When civil and human rights are violated or people are mistreated poorly, Twitter is one of the places people go to vent about what’s happening. It’s helps people realize that they are not alone and that other people around the world care about what’s going on.

    Twitter is a great social media website and is being used in amazing ways. People have discovered that Twitter is not only a quick way to communicate, but an easy way to share images, spread news, and promote various things. It most likely will keep changing the way society works and communicates, and is predicted to last even longer than Facebook and Myspace. 

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1ojJnN7Jm8gukwVeDp_Xln-jecajJlNg-AVS5rDVy45E/edit?usp=sharing

Works Cited

Carr, David. "Why Twitter Will Endure." New York Times. The New York Times Company, 1 Jan. 2010. Web. 14 Jan. 2014.

Gladwell, Malcolm. "Small Change." The New Yorker. Conde Nast, 4 Oct. 2010. Web. 15 Jan. 2014.

Kassim, Saleem. "Twitter Revolution: How the Arab Spring Was Helped By Social Media." PolicyMic. Mic Network, 3 July 2012. Web. 13 Jan. 2014.

Lee, Dave. "How Twitter Changed the World, Hashtag-by-hashtag." BBC News. BBC, 11 July 2013. Web. 15 Jan. 2014.