Microblogging: Twitter And Other Microblogging Tools

The concept of the microblog has only been around for four or five years and it evolved

out of the blogging community as a passive means to broadcast small snippets of information to audiences of all sizes. Initially there were no dedicated portals to achieve this, but since then it has been turned into a mainstream phenomenon by the near ubiquity of Twitter. This is the microblogging site with which most will be familiar and it has become a tool of communication, protest, sharing and satire. Virtually every persona in the media has their own Twitter account and it has been one of the fastest growing social networking sites besides Facebook in recent memory.

In general microblogging is used to share things, whether it be ideas or recent events that affected the life of the microblogger. However, the internet is fuelled by links and microblogging has harnessed the power of link sharing in a way that allows popular sites, pictures and videos to be shared between users, with the biggest trends spreading across the world exponentially, hence the use of the term 'viral' in relation to memes and pop culture that blooms online.

To outsiders, the idea of microblogging can seem an incredibly inane and ultimately pointless one. It is made to sound as it is a means by which people can tell one another what they had for lunch and in many cases this is precisely what the likes of Twitter become. However, when used properly microblogging is much more significant and the best way to find out how it works and more importantly why it is such an important tool is to get involved, create an account and involve yourself with the global conversation.

There are a number of popular microblogging sites, of which Twitter is just a single example. Search giant Google has launched its own microblogging site called Google Buzz and because of the intertextual nature of the microblogging world, it is essential for the whole ecosystem that Buzz and its familiars all offer cross-platform compatibility and sharing. For example, it is possible to link Twitter and Buzz to more complex social networking sites such as Facebook and LinkedIN and in turn these sites reciprocate with their own compatibilities. Blogging platforms like Wordpress allow users to automatically publish new tweets on their main blog and the stream of information this creates is a little overwhelming from time to time. However, it is becoming the new currency of the internet and the best way to contact as many people in as short a period as possible is to make a splash on a microblogging site.

An alternative to Twitter and Google Buzz is Tumblr, which was founded three years ago and has an emphasis on user modification. It allows the sharing of multimedia elements from many disciplines and as with Twitter it is possible for users to follow the feed of information from another Tumblr user if they find it particularly interesting. Tumblr and other microblogging sites allow users to alter privacy settings and only share information with an approved group of friends and acquaintances, but most choose to spread their voices as widely as possible.

One of the biggest draws to microblogging has been as a result of celebrity microbloggers. Actor and comedian Stephen Fry has become one of the biggest supporters of Twitter and huge Hollywood stars are represented on the site, allowing members of the public to find out what they are up to and most importantly reply. The microblogging movement is still in its relative infancy, but the future looks incredibly exciting.

by: Graham Worrall

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