What the heck is Twitter?!
Jul 28, 2010
Table of contents:
Twitter can seem daunting to new users who are eager to discover exactly what all the buzz is about. Here is a guide to the hottest micro-blogging platform on the tubes.
What is Twitter?
Twitter is a communication and micro-blogging platform that has taken the world by storm. By incorporating aspects of other communication platforms and creating a simple yet efficient model, Twitter has created a whole new niche in the blogging / communication arena. Of course there are other similar micro-blogging platforms, but Twitter is by far the most successful.
Twitter combines aspects of IM, email, blogging and parts of other social media services such as Facebook into a unique package. Although Twitter is made up of these common characteristics of social media, it is far different from the usage model of Facebook, for example.
The unique aspect of Twitter is that all messages are limited to 140 characters, which makes reading updates from the service quick and efficient. Users must ensure they get their message across within this limited space but staying within the context. Much like a blog, Twitter is an open forum of communication, where anyone can view and follow what you say. Therefore, in order to gain followers you must be interesting.
Twitter is certainly a unique and appropriate communication device that is relevant to the needs of millions of users. The success of Twitter has shown that it fits well into a society of quick and easy communication and the urge to know exactly what people are doing and thinking.
